CENTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Corporate giant ExxonMobil and global producer LyondellBasell are among four potential suitors pursuing Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s chemical assets, including its massive polyethylene cracker complex along the Ohio River near Monaca, according to a report by London-based Financial Times.
Other potential bidders include Apollo and the chemicals division of Kuwait Petroleum Corp., the Times reported.
These discussions, the Times cautioned, are in their early stages, and there are no final decisions on whether any sale would move forward.
According to the report, Shell is looking to divest chemical assets in four sites in Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. The entire package could be worth as much as $8 billion. All four parties have submitted nonbinding offers for either the entire portfolio or specific assets.
Shell has reportedly invested $14 billion into its Monaca plant since it was first announced in 2016. The plant, which converts ethane gas into plastic pellets, became operational in 2022. The ethane feedstock that supplies the plant is derived from natural gas pumped from the Utica and Marcellus shale formations, found in eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
However, the project has failed to satisfy expectations at Shell. In May, Shell CEO Wael Swan stated that the company was evaluating its position in its chemical holdings business, noting that the Pennsylvania plant was not a “natural operator and owner” for the global energy giant. Other indications of a potential sale have been circulating for more than a year, according to earlier reports.
Pictured at top: Shell’s polyethylene cracker complex along the Ohio River.