By Jessica Resnick-Ault and Ron Bousso | NEW YORK
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is in talks with several potential buyers for its refinery outside of San Francisco, but the Anglo-Dutch oil giant is reluctant to part with its last asset in California, three people familiar with the process say.
The company is in the midst of a massive asset sale, shedding properties from Thailand to the North Sea to pay down debt following its $54 billion purchase of smaller British rival BG Group last year.
Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, has sold around $15 billion of assets over the past year as part of a planned $30 billion in asset sales to trim debt incurred from the transaction.