Shell Begins Shutdown of Refinery It Can't Sell

Reduced demand has rendered the refinery unprofitable.

On Monday, Royal Dutch Shell started the process to permanently shutdown its refinery in Convent, Louisiana.

According to Reuters, Shell was trying to sell the 211,146 barrel-per-day (BPD) plant, but the COVID-19 pandemic sunk fuel demand.

The reduced demand has rendered the refinery unprofitable.

The company hopes to complete the phased shutdown of operations by Christmas, but the company plans to keep the plant on the market.

Shell and the United Steelworkers Union (USW) agreed on a severance package for 350 hourly workers.

Hourly employees will receive three weeks pay for every year of service with a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 78 weeks.

Salaried employees will receive a similar severance package.


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