Petrochemical major Royal Dutch Shell has dropped its previously announced agreement to sell its Danish refining business Dansk Shell to Dansk Olieselskab.
Shell stated that although it worked hard along with Dansk Olieselskab to close the transaction, the terms and conditions of it for the final transfer of Dansk Shell were not met.
The deal, which was announced in September 2016, included sale of Fredericia refinery and local trading and supply activities for a sum of about $80m. Shell said that it will continue to own Dansk Shell and its assets, with business to be done as usual.
Shell Europe, Africa and Asia industrial production vice president Bart Voet said: “We are very grateful for the patience and professionalism that A / S Dansk Shell's employees have demonstrated throughout this process.
“Shell has now rescheduled its sales activities for A / S Dansk Shell and has no current plans to re-market the company.”
Shell stated that despite the cancellation of the Dansk Shell transaction, the group’s divestment program intended to generate $30bn continues to be on track to be completed in 2018. The company disclosed that it has closed deals worth $23bn, $2bn worth deals announced and $5bn in advanced progress.
Dansk Shell’s refinery in Fredericia has a processing capacity of 70 thousand barrels per day. The refinery processes crude oil sourced from the Danish North Sea into petrol, diesel, jet fuel, petroleum and heating oil.
The manufactured products are subsequently sold from the Fredericia refinery to various fuel companies, including Dansk Fuels, which operates over 250 manned and unmanned Shell stations across Denmark.
Shell has been operating in Denmark since 1913 and has around 250 employees at its facilities in Copenhagen and Fredericia. The company’s subsidiary Shell Oil and Gas Extraction Denmark owns a stake of 36.8% in the Danish Underground Consortium which draws oil and gas in the Danish North Sea.
Image: Shell’s Fredericia refinery in Denmark. Photo: courtesy of Royal Dutch Shell.