LyondellBasell CEO says Houston refinery may be sold in future

HOUSTON, March 9 (Reuters) -- LyondellBasell Industries CEO Bob Patel said on Wednesday that the chemical company may sell off its 263,776-bpd Houston refinery in "the longer term."

"In the longer term, I can't help but think it's more valuable as part of a refining system than as part of a chemical company," Patel said in response to a question during a webcast from the J.P Morgan Aviation, Transportation and Industrials Conference.

Patel did not define the time frame he was considering, and the Lyondell presentation ended shortly after he talked about the refinery. The presentation almost exclusively focused on the outlook for the company's chemical production.

A Lyondell spokeswoman did not immediately reply to questions from Reuters about Patel's statement at the conference.

For decades, Lyondell management has described the Houston refinery as a primary source of feedstocks for the company's petrochemical plants, three of which are in industrial suburbs of Houston. The company also has plants in the Netherlands and Germany.

In 2005, Lyondell and minority partner Citgo Petroleumput the refinery up for sale to end a partnership that had unraveled after 12 years.

By the summer of 2006, bids for the plant reached between $5 billion and $6 billion before the sale was canceled, and Lyondell bought out Citgo's minority stake for $2.1 billion, or $19,000/bbl of crude oil refining capacity.

Since that time, US refinery values have fallen drastically with plants selling for less than $5,000/bbl.

Patel took over as chief executive in 2015 when James Gallogly, a former refining executive, stepped down. Prior to joining Lyondell in 2010, Patel had worked for 20 years in management at Chevron Phillips Chemical.