Saudi Aramco, Shell plan to break up Motiva refining venture in US

NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) -- Shell and Saudi Aramco on Wednesday announced plans to break up Motiva Enterprises LLC and divide up the assets, almost two decades after forming the US oil refining and marketing joint venture.

The split comes after early signs of the break-up emerged last summer when Motiva set up its own oil products trading business separate from Shell.

"The Motiva joint venture with Shell has served our downstream business objectives very well for many years," Abdulrahman Al-Wuhaib, senior vice president of downstream at Saudi Aramco, said in the statement.

"However, it is now time for the partners to pursue their independent downstream goals."

Under the terms of a non-binding letter of intent, the Saudi state oil giant will take over the Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the biggest in the US, retain 26 distribution terminals as well as the Motiva name, according to a statement.

It will also have an exclusive license to use the Shell brand for gasoline and diesel sales in Texas, the majority of the Mississippi Valley, the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic markets, it said.

For its part, Shell will assume sole ownership of the Norco, Louisiana, refinery, where it also operates a chemicals plant, the Convent, Louisiana refinery, nine distribution terminals, as well as Shell branded markets in Florida, Louisiana and the Northeastern region.

Shell said it will combine the assets with its other downstream operations in North America.