CAPGC is majority-owned and operated by Chandra Asri Group and minority-owned by Glencore through their respective subsidiary companies, the Indonesian company said in a statement.
Shell’s assets include a refinery capable of processing 237,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and a 1-million-metric-ton-per-year (tpy) ethylene plant located on Bukom island, just south of Singapore, as well as a plant that produces mono-ethylene glycol on Jurong island in the country’s west.
CAGP and Vitol had been the final bidders for the assets after shortlisted Chinese firms including state-run China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) dropped out.
Acquiring Shell’s plants in Singapore would provide Chandra Asri with naphtha feedstock for its cracker and allow the company to integrate its petrochemical production with refining which could improve its efficiency and reduce costs.
“Chandra Asri has been a leading player in the olefins and downstream space in Indonesia for decades, and has been looking to expand its current portfolio within and outside Indonesia for many years … this foothold in the petrochemical hub of Southeast Asia will give it leverage in increasing its ASEAN footprint and lift itself to be a truly regional player,” said Wood Mackenzie’s global head of polyesters, Salmon Lee.
Chandra Asri operates Indonesia’s sole naphtha cracker, which can produce 900,000 tons of ethylene and 490,000 tons of propylene annually, basic raw materials that are further processed at the complex into other petrochemicals.
