Shell completes sale of its Downstream business in Argentina to Raízen for US$916 million

THE HAGUE, 02-Oct-2018 — /EuropaWire/ — Shell CAPSA (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, has completed the sale of its Downstream business in Argentina to Raízen for US$916 million in cash, subject to final price adjustments.

The sale includes the Buenos Aires Refinery, around 665 retail stations, liquefied petroleum gas, marine fuels, aviation fuels, bitumen, chemicals and lubricants businesses, as well as supply and distribution activities in the country.

In addition, the companies acquired by Raízen will continue the relationships with Shell through various commercial agreements. Completion of the sale follows an agreement announced in April 2018.

Raízen, a joint venture set up in 2011 between Shell and Cosan, is a leading biofuels producer and fuels distributor in Brazil, where it already manages around 6,400 Shell service stations.

This sale offers the opportunity to consolidate a regional partnership between Shell and Cosan, and allows Shell to continue to benefit from Argentina’s growing downstream market. The Shell brand will remain prominent in Argentina through a licensing agreement with Raízen, meaning customers will continue to have access to high-quality, Shell-branded products and services.

The sale is consistent with Shell’s strategy to simplify its portfolio through a US$30 billion divestment programme. It does not include Shell’s Upstream interests in the Vaca Muerta shale formation. Shell sees substantial long-term growth potential in Argentina’s shale resources.

Notes to Editors:

  • The total consideration to Shell is US$916 million. Shell received US$470 million by closing and subject to final price adjustments, additional payments will be made by December 2019.
  • Raízen is a joint venture between Shell (50%) and Cosan (50%). It is the leading producer of sugar, ethanol and bioenergy in Brazil, with 26 production units and 860,000 hectares of cultivated agricultural land, a network of around 6,400 Shell stations, 950 Shell Select convenience stores and more than 2,500 business customers. In Brazil, Raízen is present in 68 airport supply bases and in 68 fuel distribution terminals and sells around 25 billion litres of fuel for the transportation, industrial and retail segments. Raízen’s current turnover is around US$24 billion a year.
  • Raízen’s results are equity accounted for on Shell’s financial statements.

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Cautionary Note
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this press release “Shell”, “Shell group” and “Royal Dutch Shell” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Royal Dutch Shell plc and subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this press release refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as “joint ventures” and “joint operations”, respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as “associates”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This press release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “aim”, “ambition’, ‘‘anticipate’’, ‘‘believe’’, ‘‘could’’, ‘‘estimate’’, ‘‘expect’’, ‘‘goals’’, ‘‘intend’’, ‘‘may’’, ‘‘objectives’’, ‘‘outlook’’, ‘‘plan’’, ‘‘probably’’, ‘‘project’’, ‘‘risks’’, “schedule”, ‘‘seek’’, ‘‘should’’, ‘‘target’’, ‘‘will’’ and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell’s 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward looking statements contained in this press release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, 1 October 2018. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.

SOURCE:  Royal Dutch Shell plc.

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