Exclusive-Glencore-Chandra Singapore refinery to earmark 20% of output for Shell, sources say

By Trixie Yap, Florence Tan and Chen Aizhu

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Glencore and Chandra Asri, gearing up to complete their takeover of Shell’s landmark Singapore refinery, have set up a new operating company and will earmark roughly 20% of output for the plant’s outgoing owner, sources familiar with the matter said.

The venture has lined up long-term crude supply from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and is in talks with other producers for more, one of the sources said.

The joint venture, called CAPGC and majority-owned by Indonesia-based petrochemicals firm Chandra Asri, is on track to close its acquisition in the first quarter of 2025 pending regulatory approval, a Shell spokesperson said – later than its earlier targeted completion by the end of this year.

A new entity under CAPGC called Aster Chemicals and Energy will operate the facilities and handle its crude oil purchases and fuel sales, according to the sources.

In May, Shell announced the sale of its 237,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, steam cracker and petrochemical facilities on Bukom and Jurong Islands, a facility dating to 1961, for an undisclosed sum. It marks the end of an era for the first refinery constructed in Singapore.

The acquisition will provide Swiss-based trading house Glencore with access to more refined products and an outlet for crude, increasing its flexibility and trade volume in Asia, while Chandra Asri, will expand its petrochemicals market share.

One of the sources said the plan is for Aster to start trial runs of various processes with the new business structure in December. Four traders moved from Shell’s trading arm to Aster Chemicals and Energy’s commercial sales department in November, two of the sources said.

“All employees providing dedicated support to the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore will retain their employment with CAPGC following completion,” the Shell spokesperson said.

Glencore is expected to start supplying crude oil to Aster’s refinery from February, two of the sources said. One of them said the trading firm is already looking for cargoes arriving that month.

Glencore declined to comment on its crude procurement plans for the refinery, while Chandra Asri and ADNOC did not respond to requests for comment.

The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak with the media.

Under Shell, the refinery has so far this year imported crude at about 130,000 bpd, mainly sour crude from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq, in addition to some sweet, or lower-sulphur, supply from Brazil, the U.S., Brunei and Malaysia, data from shiptracker Kpler showed.

SHELL REMAINS CUSTOMER

For products produced from the refinery, Shell International Eastern Trading (SIETCO), the energy major’s trading arm, will have a two-year agreement with Aster to offtake 20% of refined fuels production such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, two of the sources said.

This will cover the fuel requirements for its service stations in the city-state, the sources said.

Shell has said previously that it has signed crude supply and product offtake agreements with CAPGC, without giving specifics.

Glencore’s offtake for refined fuel products will be subject to sale agreements between the trader and Aster, a third source said.

The Bukom refinery’s jet fuel and diesel exports averaged around 6.8 million barrels per year in 2022 and 2023, Kpler data showed.

For petrochemicals, Chandra Asri is looking at consolidating naphtha purchases among its crackers in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore while centralising some of its petrochemical sales, one of the sources said.

(Reporting by Trixie Yap, Florence Tan and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Tony Munroe and Toby Chopra)