By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Feb. 27�Conoco Inc. and Petronas, the Malaysian state oil company, Tuesday said they were buying Statoil AS's 15% share of a joint-venture Melaka refinery.
Conoco held 40% of the 95,000-b/d refinery, which is south of Kuala Lumpur. Petronas operates the facility and had 45%. The split of acquired shares will be announced later. The deal is expected to be signed by April.
Petronas operates and owns 100% of a separate 95,000-b/d process stream at Melaka.
Jim Nokes, Conoco executive vice-president for refining, marketing, supply, and transportation, said, "The Melaka refinery is the anchor for Conoco's downstream operations in Asia-Pacific. Acquiring the additional interest in this state-of-the-art facility enhances our overall investment in the region and positions our retail marketing operations for profitable growth as demand increases.''
Operational since early 1999, the Melaka refinery produces a full range of refined petroleum products and utilizes Conoco's delayed coking technology to economically upgrade low-cost feedstocks into higher-margin products.
Conoco said Melaka's refining process is designed to maximize diesel production, as well as meet market needs for motor fuel and specialty products. It said the refinery significantly improved operations in 2000 and key processing units ran at record production rates.
"The refinery successfully completed its first major turnaround last November and is set to run the next several years with no interruption," it said.
