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AnonymousChevron and Kuwait join line of European refineries up for sale
By Richard Orange 23 April 2006
CHEVRON and Kuwait Petroleum are gearing up to sell stakes in Rotterdam refineries worth about $1bn (E810m, £350m).
The Business understands that Chevron has hired Citigroup to begin preparations to sell its 31% stake in the BP-operated Nerefco refinery.
Kuwait Petroleum, meanwhile, has hired JP Morgan to scout for potential buyers for its Europoort refinery.
Nerefco is one of Europe’s largest and most modern plants, with the capacity to process 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and Chevron’s stake is expected to be worth more than $650m. The Europoort refinery is far smaller, processing 40,000 barrels per day, and will be worth closer to $320m.
A banker said: “Refineries are going for pretty ridiculous numbers at the moment. It’s been an industry that’s been very static in Europe.”
JP Morgan has contacted potential buyers informally, but Citigroup has yet to make approaches.
Kuwait is selling because it regards its refinery business as being too small to compete. A banker said: “It’s sub-scale. It’s a choice of double up or exit.”
The two are just the latest in a procession of refinery owners across Europe to decide that today is perfect time to float on the stock exchange or sell assets.
Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings, which own Dutch refiner Petroplus, on 13 April announced the acquisition of refiner European Petroleum Holdings, as first reported in The Business in February. Petroplus is thought to have paid $400m.
Libya’s Tamoil is close to the end of an auction run by BNP Paribas. Saras, the owner of the biggest refinery in the Mediterranean, plans to raise as much as E2.5bn in an IPO later this year. -
ExxonMobil has the only refinery in the Netherlands with a coker even though the Chevron owned BP-operated Nerefoco Refinery is touted to be one of the largest and most modern refineries in Europe.
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