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May 6th, 2005:

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell, BASF Sell Plastics Venture To Consortium for $5.7 Billion

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Shell, BASF Sell Plastics Venture To Consortium for $5.7 Billion 

6 May 2005

A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP

LONDON — Royal Dutch/Shell Group and BASF AG of Germany agreed to sell their joint plastics venture — a giant manufacturer of basic materials used in everything from diapers to auto parts — to a consortium led by New York-based Access Industries and Chatterjee Group of India for €4.4 billion ($5.7 billion), including debt.

The transaction is subject to approval by regulators and is expected to close in the second half of 2005. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BLOOMBERG: BASF, Shell to Sell Basell to Access, Chatterjee

BLOOMBERG: BASF, Shell to Sell Basell to Access, Chatterjee

6 May 2005

(Bloomberg) — BASF AG and Royal Dutch/Shell Group agreed to sell their Basell NV plastics joint venture for 4.4 billion euros ($5.7 billion) to companies controlled by Russian- born billionaire Len Blavatnik and an Indian entrepreneur after bowing to U.S. pressure to reject Iranian offers.

Access Industries Inc., started by Blavatnik, who owns part of Russia’s third-biggest oil producer, and Chatterjee Group, whose founder also set up India’s Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., will pay half the cost in cash and half in debt for Hoofdorpp, Netherlands-based Basell, BASF spokesman Michael Grabicki said. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Guardian: Shell sells plastics unit to Russian billionaire

The Guardian: Shell sells plastics unit to Russian billionaire

CHARLOTTE MOORE

May 06, 2005

Shell yesterday sold its plastics business for euros 4.4bn (pounds 3bn), appearing to bow to American pressure against selling the group to Iran.

Basell, the world’s largest producer of plastic polypropylene, is owned 50-50 by Shell and Germany’s BASF. The consortium buying the plastics manufacturer is headed by Access Industries and includes Chatterjee Group, a United States-based investment company with a presence in India.

Access Industries is run by Leonard Blavatnik, a Russian-born billionaire who made his fortune in the oil industry. Blavatnik once outbid Roman Abramovich by paying pounds 41m for a house in Kensington Park Gardens, London. “I’m very pleased we are the successful bidder for Basell. We believe Basell is an attractively positioned global business with an excellent future,” he said. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Digital dawn for black-gold diggers

Financial Times: Digital dawn for black-gold diggers

By James Boxell

Published: May 6 2005

In a darkened room, a group of Royal Dutch/Shell technical experts don virtual reality goggles and reach for their keyboards to direct the drilling of an oilfield thousands of miles away.

They are in the oil company’s exploration and production headquarters in the Netherlands, but the oil lies beneath the Gulf of Mexico.

They call up a startlingly detailed three-dimensional image of the subterranean Na Kika field, 6,000 feet beneath the ocean surface.

The 3D simulation hovers in the centre of the room and is updated as geological data gathered by the drills is relayed back from the field in real time. The scientists and engineers slice and dice the picture and highlight the precious hydrocarbon reservoirs deep within the rock, enabling them to place the oil wells with a far greater degree of accuracy than was possible before. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

The Independent: BP’s Russian oligarch buys Shell plastics joint venture for £3bn

The Independent: BP’s Russian oligarch buys Shell plastics joint venture for £3bn

By Michael Harrison Business Editor

06 May 2005

A consortium led by one of the Russian oligarchs with whom BP has teamed up paid £3bn yesterday for a plastics joint-venture owned by Shell and BASF after the sale of the business to an Iranian company fell foul of US political pressure.

Basell, the world’s top polypropylene producer, is being bought by Access Industries, a New York-based business run by Len Blavatnik, and the Chatterjee Group, a private US investment company with extensive interests in India. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Basell sold in €4.4bn deal

Financial Times: Basell sold in €4.4bn deal

By James Boxell

Published: May 6 2005

Royal Dutch/Shell and BASF have sold their plastics joint venture, Basell, for €4.4bn ($5.7bn) to a consortium led by Access Industries of the US and India’s Chatterjee Group.

Access is controlled by Leonard Blavatnik, the Russian billionaire investor, while Chatterjee owns Haldia Petrochemicals of India. The consortium beat a rival bid from Iran’s National Petrochemical Company, which said it had lost because of opposition from the US government to a deal. The purchase price includes €2.2bn of debt. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Daily Telegraph: Iran loses race for Basell due to US pressure

Daily Telegraph: Iran loses race for Basell due to US pressure

By Malcolm Moore (Filed: 06/05/2005)

Shell and BASF yesterday gave in to pressure from the United States and decided not to sell the world’s largest maker of polypropylene to Iran. 

Instead, Basell, which makes the plastic which is used from everything from DVD cases to yoghurt pots, was sold for €4.4billion (£3billion) to Haldia, an Indian chemicals company. Haldia is backed by Purnendu Chatterjee, an Indian entrepreneur, and Leonard Blavatnik, a Russian oil billionaire.

Until yesterday, the Iranian state oil company was leading the race for Basell. However, a promise not to include Basell’s Louisiana plant in the deal was not enough to placate stiff US opposition. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell ‘no comment’ on US blocking NPC purchase

IranMania.com: Shell ‘no comment’ on US blocking NPC purchase 

Friday, May 06, 2005

LONDON, May 6 (IranMania) – Shell insisted Thursday that it was unable to comment on reports that it had backed out of a $4 bln and 400 mln deal to sell a major Dutch chemical business to Iran because of US pressure.

“The process is subject to commercial confidentiality. We cannot comment,” a Shell spokeswoman told IRNA with regard to the bid by Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) bid for Basell, which the Anglo-Dutch company joint owns with Germany’s Basf. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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