LyondellBasell ends talks to sell French refinery

LyondellBasell has ended talks to sell its 105,000 bpd Berre refinery in southeastern France to Monoco-based Sotragem, officials confirmed on Thursday.

The Berre refinery has been mothballed since January 2012 after LyondellBasell failed to find a buyer. The company originally put the refinery up for sale in May 2011.

LyondellBasell said in a statement that Sotragem's bid did not offer acceptable commercial terms and showed no guarantee of a restart of the refinery.

"LyondellBasell therefore decided to put an end to negotiations with Sotragem SAM," the company said in a statement.

LyondellBasell added that it remains committed to its core business operations at the Berre petrochemical cluster. Over the past two years, the company said it implemented several projects to enhance the competitiveness of its Berre cracker and downstream operations