Japan’s Eneos leads bids for Chevron’s Singapore oil refinery stake

[SINGAPORE] Japan’s Eneos Holdings is ahead of rival bidders for US heavyweight Chevron’s stake in a Singapore oil refinery, according to people familiar with the matter.

Other suitors for the 50 per cent stake in Singapore Refining Company include commodity giants Glencore and Vitol Group, the people said, asking not to be identified as they are not allowed to discuss the process.

The deal is expected to be nearing a conclusion, they added, though the process could still see delays and is not yet certain.

Chevron’s planned sale marks the most recent Singapore divestment by a global oil major, after Shell sold its Bukom refinery last year to a joint venture between Glencore and Indonesia’s Chandra Asri Pacific.

A Chevron representative for Asia also did not respond to inquiries. Eneos, Glencore and Vitol declined to comment.

Refineries in Singapore, a hub for oil trading, pricing and shipping in Asia-Pacific, represent an opportunity for firms looking to reinvest huge profits they have made from commodities into the region that accounts for most of the world’s demand growth.

Some, like Glencore, have targeted downstream assets to profit from margins that can be captured from turning crude oil into consumable fuels.

Chevron invited non-binding bids for the stake earlier this year.

SRC is a joint venture between Singapore Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of PetroChina International (Singapore), and Chevron Singapore.

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It operates a 290,000 barrels-a-day refinery location on Jurong Island, producing fuels and chemical feedstocks for domestic as well as export markets. BLOOMBERG