Shell Email Leak Says US Convent Refinery Income Dismal -Blog
July 17 2009 - 2:17AM
Dow Jones News
Income performance at Motiva Enterprises LLC's Convent refinery
near Baton Rouge in Louisiana has been dismal since July 2008 and
the company needs to cut costs to return to profitability,
according to an internal email from part-owner Royal Dutch Shell
PLC (RDSB) which was leaked to a blog critical of the company.
"We are getting our costs in line at Convent in order to become
competitive in a tough business environment," the email sent to
Motiva staff by manager David Brignac said. "We are considering
reductions in operator positions, but no final decisions have been
made on operator staffing levels," he writes in the email posted
Friday on royaldutchshellplc.com.
Brignac denied that the company already has plans for a second
round of layoffs at the refinery but says it is impossible to
predict the future and, "whenever we as a business entity are not
generating income, we are not in control of our own destiny."
Some analysts expect Shell's refining business to have made a
loss in the second quarter because of low profit margins, weak
demand and high stocks of transport fuels. New Chief Executive
Peter Voser plans a major restructuring of the company, trimming
back some unprofitable units. Earlier this month the company said
it is considering selling or closing its 130,000 barrel a day
refinery in Quebec, Canada.
Motiva is a joint venture between Shell and a subsidiary of
state-owned Saudi Aramco. It operates nearly 7,700 gasoline
stations, three refineries with combined capacity of 740,000
barrels per day and oil storage facilities.
Company Web site: http://www.royaldutchshellplc.com
-By James Herron, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9317;
james.herron@dowjones.com
Shell (LSE:SHEL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Shell (LSE:SHEL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024