More than 70 companies show interest in Shell’s Bakersfield refinery

The Associated Press

Shell Oil Co. said Sept. 22 it has received interest from more than 70 companies to buy its Bakersfield refinery that produces 2 percent of California’s gasoline.

Shell had agreed to delay the planned closure of the refinery to allow for more time to find a buyer. More than 20 companies have signed confidentiality agreements, allowing them to enter the sales process, Shell said in a press release.

No new companies will be allowed to enter the sales process, the company said.

If no agreement can be reached with a company, Shell said the refinery closure plan will continue. Shell President Lynn Laverty Elsenhans has agreed to keep the refinery running through March 31 — six months later than the Oct. 1 planned shutdown date.

Shell officials last November announced their decision to shutter the 72-year-old refinery, citing a decline in oil production in the region and the inefficiency of the aging inland operation. The refinery produces 2 percent of the state’s gasoline supply and 6 percent of its diesel fuel.

Experts, however, have said that while oil production is declining at a rate of about 3 percent to 5 percent per year, there are still large amounts of crude oil in Kern County, where output surpasses every state except for Texas and Alaska.

The proposed closure generated outrage among politicians and consumers who argued the dismantling would further squeeze supplies and inflate pump prices for California motorists, who have long paid the highest gasoline prices in the nation.

Both the state attorney general’s office and the Federal Trade Commission are investigating the proposed shutdown.