Adds expected deal completion date in first paragraph
US refiner Phillips 66 has agreed to sell its Bantry Bay oil terminal in Ireland to US-based Zenith Energy. The refiner said the transaction requires the consent of the Irish government but expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of this year, it told Argus. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
Ireland's Depart of Communications, Energy and Natural Resource (DCENR) understands that Zenith intends to continue operating the terminal on a commercial basis and that it will remain an important element of Irish oil infrastructure, regardless of its ownership.
It added that the sale will not affect the existing contract for National Oil Reserves Agency (Nora) stocks held at the terminal.
Bantry holds a significant portion of Ireland's strategic oil stocks, amounting to some 34pc of its 90-day obligation. Nora holds stocks at several other locations, including major ports and terminals, at the 72,000 b/d Whitegate refinery and at three strategic storage facilities that Nora recently commissioned in Tarbert, Co. Kerry, Ringsend, Dublin, and Kilroot, Co. Antrim. Nora also stores a smaller portion of stocks in neighbouring markets including the UK. The DCENR said Nora is seeking opportunities for additional oil storage in Ireland.
Phillips 66 dropped its plans to sell the Whitegate refinery and its associated marketing business in April. Whitegate is Ireland's only refinery and supplies 25-30pc of the country's products needs.
Phillips 66 is contractually required to operate Whitegate as a refinery until 2016 under the original 15-year obligations and guarantees entered into as part of the purchase agreement in 2001. The DCENR said the obligations and guarantees will not be renewed after 2016.
kc/jc
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