Royal Dutch Shell completes sale of Dominican refinery

As part of an ongoing strategy of portfolio management, Shell Petroleum NV (Shell) has successfully completed the sale of its 50% shareholding in Refinería Dominicana de Petróleo, S.A. (REFIDOMSA), for a total value of $110 million, to the Government of the Dominican Republic, who is now the sole owner of the refinery. This concludes a share purchase agreement signed on 5 August 2008.

The REFIDOMSA refinery was commissioned in January 1973. With a processing capacity of some 34,000 barrels per day, it is the primary petroleum products refinery in the Dominican Republic and, along with its import terminal, supplies most of the fuel requirements in the country.

This decision to sell the shareholding is part of Shell’s active portfolio management to realise value for shareholders, and to refocus the downstream portfolio.

Shell will continue to serve its customers in the Dominican Republic in a range of businesses including Retail, Lubricants and Commercial marketing.

Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell is a global leader in the downstream business. The company has some 4 million barrels of crude oil per day of world wide refining capacity. Shell is the world’s largest single branded fuels retailer with some 46,000 service stations worldwide, and operations in some 90 countries and territories around the world.

Refinería Dominicana de Petróleo, S.A. (REFIDOMSA)
The Refinería Dominicana de Petróleo, S.A. (REFIDOMSA) was a joint venture owned 50% by Shell affiliates and 50% by the Government of the Dominican Republic. The refinery capacity is 34,000 barrels per day and has a hydro-skimming configuration. All the processes are conventional and well-proven in the petroleum industry. REFIDOMSA is the primary petroleum products refinery in the Dominican Republic and, along with its import terminal, supplies most of the fuel requirement in the country. The refinery was commissioned in January 1973 and since that time there have been no major process units added. However, tank capacity and import facilities for finished products have been added to meet the increased domestic demand. In addition, in 1992 the refinery commissioned its own power generation plant resulting in an improvement in the overall plant reliability.