Valero Energy to acquire stake in TRN

May 26, 2009
Valero Energy entered into an agreement to acquire Dow Chemical's 45% interest in the Total Raffinaderij Nederland for $725 million, including working capital and inventories.

Eric Watkins
OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor

LOS ANGELES, May 26 -- Valero Energy Corp. entered into an agreement to acquire Dow Chemical Co.'s 45% interest in the Total Raffinaderij Nederland NV (TRN) for $725 million, including working capital and inventories.

TRN owns a 190,000 b/d refinery in the Netherlands' Zeeland region on the Scheldt River. TRN also owns an interest in the Massvlatke Olie Terminal in Rotterdam, one of the world's largest oil terminals.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval as well as a right-of-first refusal held by Total SA, the refinery operator and owner of the remaining 55% interest in TRN, Valero said. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

TRN's refinery, built in 1973, received major upgrades in the mid-1980s, mid-1990s, and throughout this decade. The refinery has a large, distillate-hydrocracking unit with capacity of 68,000 b/d.

Bill Klesse, Valero chairman and chief executive officer, said the acquisition represented an exceptional entry point into the European market, especially since TRN's refinery can process a variety of discounted feedstocks primarily into diesel and jet fuel within the world's strongest diesel market.

Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].