PBF Holding Company LLC on September 27 announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire the 185,000-barrel-per-day Paulsboro, N.J., refinery, a connecting natural gas pipeline and related assets from subsidiaries of Valero Energy Corporation. PBF will acquire the facility for approximately $180 million in cash and will enter into a note with the seller in the amount of $180 million. The purchase price is subject to certain adjustments at closing. In addition to the purchase price, PBF will acquire the hydrocarbon inventory at the facility at closing.
Paulsboro is a high-conversion heavy crude oil refinery with a Nelson complexity rating of 13.1. Located on the shore of the Delaware River, Paulsboro is approximately 10 miles from Philadelphia and 35 miles from PBF’s recently acquired Delaware City refinery. The refinery’s location allows it to access pipeline, ship, barge, truck and rail transportation. Major process units include a delayed coking unit, a fluid catalytic cracking unit, hydrotreating units, a reformer, an alkylation unit and 12,000 barrels per day of lube oil processing capacity. There are approximately 7.5 million barrels of crude oil and product storage at the refinery.
Thomas D. O’Malley, PBF’s chairman, said, “With the Paulsboro acquisition, PBF will own the two most complex refineries in PADD 1. There are tremendous synergies with the Delaware City refinery. Once Delaware City reopens, PBF will have over 375,000 bpd of refining capacity within a 35 mile radius.”
“The acquisition of Paulsboro is an important milestone for PBF, and we look forward to making additional future investments to fund PBF as management executes an acquisition-based growth strategy”, said David Foley, senior managing director of Blackstone.
“Paulsboro is a high-quality facility and adds considerable scale and diversity to PBF’s existing asset base,” said Timothy H. Day, managing director for First Reserve Corporation. “First Reserve is pleased to support Tom and his team in the continued growth of PBF.”
PBF plans to retain substantially all the employees at the refinery. Paulsboro has a talented and experienced workforce and PBF looks forward to working with them following completion of the acquisition.
The parties expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of this year. The closing is conditioned upon certain regulatory approvals and obtaining satisfactory permits from the State of New Jersey.
PBF’s principal owners are Petroplus Holdings A. G., Europe’s largest independent refiner, The Blackstone Group, and First Reserve Corporation. Petroplus has also announced that it plans to sell its investment in PBF to Blackstone and First Reserve.
