Dutch petrol company Shell announced on Thursday it has reached an agreement to sell two of its French oil refineries to Swiss-based Petroplus Holdings AG for 875 million dollars including an approximately 400 million dollars in working capital, according to DPA. The terms of the sale of the Petit Couronne and Reichstett Vendenheim refineries with a combined production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day will be further discussed during 2008, when the deal will be completed, Shell said. Shell's Berre-l'Etang refinery site complex in France is not part of the deal. Rob Souts, Shell's executive director of oil products and chemicals, said Shell believes "this deal is in the long-term best interest of our shareholders, staff and customers." The sale of the two French refineries fits Shell's new business strategy of reducing its activities in less profitable countries in order to increase its investments in east Asia, where it sees more profitable growth opportunies, he said.
