M&A: One refinery sale may prevent another: Analysis

摘要

This week’s surprise announcement that LyondellBasell is looking to sell its 289,000-b/d refinery in Houston may mean that Phillips 66 will not find a buyer for its 269,000- b/d plant in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, that was knocked out by Hurricane Ida. In fact, some M&A experts believe that news of LyondellBasell retaining Bank of America to look for buyers of the Houston plant might have been triggered by the availability of Belle Chasse, or of the idled Shell Convent refinery in Louisiana. “While the Houston Refinery is a valuable, well-performing asset, we have long held the belief that it may be even more valuable as part of a larger refining system,” announced Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell. “To that end, we are actively gauging market interest in this business with the goal of delivering the greatest value to all our stakeholders.”