Vertex Energy Extends Bunker One Deal to Cover Mobile Refinery

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday May 27, 2021

Vertex Energy is extending its US Gulf marine fuel supply agreement with Bunker One to cover the Mobile, Alabama refinery after buying the plant from Shell.

Shell is selling the 90,000 b/d plant near the US Gulf Coast as part of a strategy of "reducing its global refinery footprint to core sites integrated with the company's trading hubs, chemicals plants and marketing businesses," the company said in an emailed statement.

Shell will receive $75 million for the sale, plus the cost of the refinery's hydrocarbon inventory, valued at $65-85 million. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.

"The sale of the Mobile refinery shows that we are making good progress delivering on our manufacturing strategy," Robin Mooldijk, EVP for manufacturing at Shell, said in the statement.

"We're becoming better positioned to deliver resilient returns and meet the increasingly diverse needs of our customers."

Bunker One holds a small stake in Vertex, and has the right to purchase up to 100% of the marine fuel produced at its Marrero, Louisiana plant up to 2029. This agreement will be extended to supply fuels from the Mobile refinery to both Shell and Bunker One, Vertex said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.