Oil giant Shell sells Singapore refinery it built on Bukom island over 60 years ago

The sale of Shell’s assets in Singapore include the refinery on Bukom island, which opened in 1961, and a mono-ethylene glycol plant on Jurong island

The buyers, Indonesia’s Chandra Asri Capital and Glencore Asian Holdings, are looking to gain a foothold in Asia’s main oil refining and trading hub

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Boats sail past the Shell refinery on Pulau Bukom, or Bukom island, off Singapore. The facility opened in 1961. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:25pm, 8 May 2024Updated: 3:28pm, 8 May 2024

Shell said on Wednesday it has agreed to sell its refinery and petrochemical assets in Singapore – Asia’s main oil hub – to a joint venture between Indonesia’s Chandra Asri Capital and Glencore Asian Holdings.

The transaction will transfer all of Shell’s interest in Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore to the joint venture company CAPGC, Shell said in a statement.

The companies did not provide a value for the deal.

Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to complete by the end of 2024, Shell added.

CAPGC is majority-owned and operated by Chandra Asri Group and minority-owned by Swiss miner and commodities trader Glencore through their respective subsidiary companies, the Indonesian chemical and infrastructure company said in a statement.

Oil storage tanks are seen on Jurong island off Singapore, the location of Shell’s mono-ethylene glycol plant. Photo: AFP

Shell’s assets include a refinery capable of processing 237,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and a 1-million-metric-tonne-per-year (tpy) ethylene plant located on Bukom island, just south of Singapore, as well as a plant that produces mono-ethylene glycol on Jurong island in the Southeast Asian city state’s west.