Royal Dutch Shell announced on March 29 that it has agreed to sell Britain's second biggest oil refinery to Indian group Essar.
"Shell today announced it has signed a sales and purchase agreement for its 270,000 barrel-per-day Stanlow refinery in the United Kingdom and certain associated local marketing businesses with Essar Oil (UK) Limited (Essar) for a total expected consideration of some $1.3 billion," it said.
Stanlow, which is located near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in northwest England, produces about one sixth of the country's gasoline and employs 960 people.
"The decision to sell Stanlow is part of our drive to concentrate our global manufacturing portfolio on larger assets," added Shell's Downstream Director Mark Williams.
"On completion, (this sale) means we will have reduced our global refining exposure through a combination of asset sales and closures by a total of 1.6 million barrels since 2002."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
