Shell has agreed to sell its 37.5pc stake in the 208,000 b/d Schwedt refinery in northeast Germany to Austria-based firm Alcmene for an undisclosed sum as part of an ongoing drive to reduce its global refining footprint.

The deal with Alcmene — a subsidiary of trading and logistics firm Liwathon — is subject to Shell's joint venture partners not exercising their pre-emption rights. Russia's state-controlled Rosneft has a 54.17pc stake in Schwedt, and Italy's Eni owns the remaining 8.33pc. Liwathon acquired four oil product terminals at the Estonian port of Tallinn in 2019, but it has no refining assets.

Shell said it expects the transaction to be finalised in the second half of this year. It has agreed broad-ranging oil product offtake agreements with the new shareholder, which will enable it to continue supplying its customers in the future. The firm says day-to-day operations at the refinery will not be affected, nor will the divestment impact any of its other activities in Germany.

The sale is part of Shell's strategy to confine its refinery portfolio to core sites that are integrated with its trading hubs, chemicals plants and marketing businesses, such as its 310,000 b/d Rheinland refining and petrochemicals complex in Germany.

Shell announced plans last year to sell five of its eleven refineries by 2025. It has already found buyers for its 70,000 b/d Fredericia refinery in Denmark, its 145,000 b/d Puget Sound refinery in Washington and for its share of the 340,000 b/d Deer Park refinery in Texas. It shut its 240,000 b/d refinery in Convent, Louisiana in November after failing to find a buyer.