Shell to shut down German oil refinery

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters): Shell will shut down its oil refinery in Wesseling, Germany by 2025 and convert the site to produce lubricant feedstock as part of its drive to reduce its carbon emissions, the company said on Friday.
Shell said it will convert the site's hydrocracker unit into a production unit for Group III base oils, used mostly in engines, with capacity of about 300,000 metric tons a year, equivalent to about 9% of current EU demand and 40% of Germany's demand for base oils.
The move is expected to reduce Shell's operational carbon emissions, known as Scope 1 and 2 emissions, by about 620,000 tons a year.
Shell, which aims to cut overall greenhouse gas emissions - including those from fuels burnt by customers - to net zero by 2050, is also planning to sell its refining and petrochemicals site in Singapore.
Crude oil processing at the Wesseling site, which is part of Shell's Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland near Cologne, will end in 2025 but will continue at its Godorf refinery, the company said.
The new production facility in Wesseling is expected to start operations in the second half of this decade.