ExxonMobil has agreed to sell its 50 percent interest in a Louisiana crude oil refinery that it owns in partnership with Venezuela's state-controlled oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela.
Independent refiner PBF Energy Inc. will purchase 100 percent of the business, Chalmette Refining, LLC, for $322 million.
The Chalmette Refinery, located near New Orleans, Louisiana, is a 189,000 barrel per day, dual-train coking refinery with a Nelson Complexity of 12.7. It is capable of processing both light and heavy crude oil.
"This decision is the result of a strategic assessment of the site and how it fits with our large U.S. Gulf Coast Refining portfolio," explained Jerry Wascom, president of ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Company.
PBF Energy will take over the Chalmette Refinery and chemical production facilities, as well as the MOEM Pipeline, providing access to the Empire Terminal, and the CAM Connection Pipeline, providing access to the LOOP facility through a third-party pipeline. It will also acquire 80 percent ownership of Collins Pipeline Company and T&M Terminal Company, both located in Collins, Mississippi, which provide a clean products outlet for the refinery via the Plantation and Colonial Pipelines.
The transaction also includes a marine terminal; a clean products truck rack, providing access to local markets; and a crude and product storage facility with approximately 7.5 million barrels of shell capacity.
"The acquisition of the Chalmette Refinery, and its associated logistics assets, represents a significant step in the strategic growth of PBF Energy and PBF Logistics," said Tom Nimbley, PBF Energy's CEO. "Upon completion, we will have increased our refining capacity by 35 percent and added meaningful Gulf Coast assets to our businesses. We will have operations in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent and East Coast and have diversified and increased our commercial footprint and flexibility."
