Essar Energy PLC, Mumbai, has completed its purchase from Royal Dutch Shell of the Stanlow refinery near Ellesmere Port in Northwest England (OGJ Online, Mar. 29, 2011).
Essar reported nameplate capacity of the refinery at 296,000 b/d. It paid $175 million, less adjustments for costs, on completion of the deal and will pay a similar amount plus interest in 1 year. It also paid Shell $916 million for inventories.
The buyer described the purchase as a way to gain direct access to the UK products market and expand options for exports of fuels from its 300,000-b/d Vadinar refinery in Gujarat on India’s west coast.
Expansion projects will boost Vadinar capacity to 375,000 b/d by yearend and to 405,000 b/d by September 2012.
Essar Energy also owns 50% of the 80,000-b/d Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd. refinery in Mombasa.
