The proposed sale covers oil products, chemicals manufacturing and access rights to certain distribution terminal assets, and the commercial fuels bulk fuels and local marine fuels businesses associated with the refinery.
Shell will also enter into an exclusive five-year contract to supply crude to Essar and another long-term agreement will be signed by Essar to supply products to Shell in the UK.
Stanlow, which is near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, has a capacity of 270,000 barrel-per-day and is the country’s second largest oil refinery.
The transaction which is subject to certain conditions precedent, will be completed during the second half of 2011.
Shell downstream director Mark Williams said that the decision to sell Stanlow is part of its drive to concentrate its global manufacturing portfolio on larger assets and, on completion, it will have reduced its global refining exposure through a combination of asset sales and closures by a total of 1.6 million barrels since 2002.
This agreement follows a formal offer Essar made for Stanlow in mid-February.
