Chances for a quick sale of LyondellBasell Industries’ Houston oil refinery are said to be dwindling, with several other refineries competing for buyers.
The petrochemical maker put the 263,776-bpd plant on the market for a second time last year after squeezing a small third-quarter profit from the unit. Its then-CEO predicted a deal within a quarter or two.
The marketing effort has coincided with other deals. Phillips 66 put a Louisiana refinery on the block last summer and later opted to convert the plant to oil storage.
Shell Plc also last year tried to sell a Louisiana refinery but took it off the market and is considering converting it to bio-diesel production.
Marathon Petroleum Corp said in November it was in talks to sell an Alaska oil-processing plant. That plant has not sold.
“LyondellBasell continuously evaluates business conditions, our portfolio, and a wide range of options for managing the company,” company spokesperson Chevalier Gray said in response to questions on the marketing effort. She declined to discuss the status of the planned sale.
PBF Energy has toured the plant on the Houston Ship Channel that is home to the largest US collection of petrochemical plants. A PBF spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Refiners Marathon, the largest US refiner, Motiva Enterprises and Chevron Corp have been interested in the operation at times, the people said.
The Lyondell plant is a full-conversion refinery, meaning it can process cheaper high-sulphur heavy crude oil into motor fuels that meet US environmental standards.
“The Lyondell sale saga has been going on for some time and it’s going to continue,” said Andrew Lipow, president of energy consultancy Lipow Oil Associates.
For more information visit www.lyondellbasell.com
