Shell to sell six refineries and cut 1000 jobs

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Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it plans to sell six oil refineries and cut 1000 jobs from it global reefing operations.

The UK newspaper The Times reported that Shell’s CEO, Peter Voser made the announcement after Shell’s 2009 profits plummeted by 69% to US$9.8 billion.

The Anglo-Dutch supermajor owns 35 refineries worldwide. The six earmarked for sale are located in the UK, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden and El Salvador. The sales would cut Shell’s refining capacity by 15%, around 560,000 barrels of refined products per day.

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Shells current capacity stands at 3.3 million bpd, but with margins per barrel dropping to $1.49 from $5.19 a year ago the company feels that it is time to act.

The demand for refined products dropped massively in 2009 compared to 2008, especially in North America and Europe.