Total to sell Dutch refinery stake to Lukoil

Doris Leblond
OGJ Correspondent

PARIS, June 30 -- Total SA has exercised its preemptive rights to acquire a 45% share in the 147,000-b/d Vissigen refinery in the Netherlands from Dow Chemical and entered an agreement to sell the stake to Lukoil.

Total owns 55% of the refinery. It said the sale to Lukoil is contingent on acceptance of the deal by the "competent authorities," including the European Commission’s competition regulators and, according to a Total spokesman, workers’ committees in France and the Netherlands.

A purchase price of $725 million reported in the Russian press was not confirmed by Total.

Valero Energy Corp. earlier had agreed to buy the Dow Chemical interest for an enterprise value estimated at $725 million.

Lukoil supplies around 30% of the crude oil for Total's West European refineries.