UNOCAL TO BUY SHELL CALIFORNIA REFINING ASSETS

Unocal Corp.'s Union Oil Co. of California unit has signed a letter of intent to purchase most of Shell Oil Co.'s Wilmington refinery complex at Carson, Calif. The complex includes the Wilmington and Dominguez sites at Carson and the Mormon Island marine terminal in Los Angeles Harbor. Unocal plans to acquire all of the facilities at the Wilmington site except a lubricants compounding plant, which Shell plans to retain. Included in the proposed sale are a 125,000 b/d crude unit, a

Oct. 7, 1991

Unocal Corp.'s Union Oil Co. of California unit has signed a letter of intent to purchase most of Shell Oil Co.'s Wilmington refinery complex at Carson, Calif.

The complex includes the Wilmington and Dominguez sites at Carson and the Mormon Island marine terminal in Los Angeles Harbor.

Unocal plans to acquire all of the facilities at the Wilmington site except a lubricants compounding plant, which Shell plans to retain.

Included in the proposed sale are a 125,000 b/d crude unit, a coker, a gas oil hydrotreater, and sulfur plants.

Shell plans to shut down refinery operations at Dominguez but continue to operate the lube oil compounding and product terminal and storage facilities at the complex.

Unocal plans to shut down the 108,000 b/d crude units and visbreaker units at its Los Angeles refinery and use the more efficient crude unit at Shell's Wilmington site.

Acquisition of the Shell hydrotreater would eliminate the need for Unocal's installation of a hydrotreater unit just getting under way at its Los Angeles refinery (OGJ, Dec. 31, 1990, p. 38).