Shell to sell stake in Berre cracker to Basell

By Liz White, ERJ staff

London-Shell chemicals companies have agreed to sell to Basell the 50 percent stake Shell Petrochimie Mediterranee (SPM) currently owns in Société du Craqueur de l'Aubette (SCA).

SCA operates the ethylene cracker at Berre in southern France with Basell currently holding the other 50 percent of SCA shares. Once the transaction is completed, the cracker will be wholly owned by Basell, said a Shell spokeswoman.

Shell added that, as part of the agreement, Basell will also acquire the butadiene business of Shell at Berre, including the butadiene assets, as well as logistic assets associated with the cracker operation in Aubette, Berre and Fos.

Essentially there will be no changes to the operation of any of the plants at Berre as a result of this sale, the spokeswoman stressed: the only changes are to the ownership of some of the assets (physical, product and customer base).

Berre hosts a number of facilities, owned by third parties including Dow and Kraton. Shell (SPM) operates all of these assets under the terms of operating agreements with the owners and will continue to do so. SPM will continue to operate the cracker, logistic assets and butadiene plant under the terms of the relevant operating agreements with Basell, said a joint Shell/Basell statement.

SPM also currently operates a butadiene rubber plant at Berre on behalf of Dow Chemical Co. Following completion, and subject to Dow's agreement, the only change will be that butadiene for this plant will be supplied by Basell.

In addition, SPM operates a styrenic block copolymer plant at Berre on behalf of Kraton Polymers and will continue to run this unit, the spokeswoman confirmed. Contracts for the supply of butadiene to the plant will be reassigned to Basell, subject to Kraton's agreement.

The transaction needs approval by the relevant antitrust authorities and other