US refinery is now owned by Saudis

Saudis owns the largest US refinery near Houston, Texas

On March 17, 2016 the OilPrice.com* reported the largest US refinery is now owned by Saudis.   So who’s crude oil will they be buying?  Safe to say, not Venezuela’s…or America’s.

Motiva Enterprises LLC, formed in 1998 as a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Aramco to operate three refineries along the US Gulf Coast.  Matt Smith’s article, Oil Prices Jump As Dollar Hits 5-Month Lows, reports:

Finally, Saudi Aramco and Shell are splitting up their U.S. refinery assets and going their separate ways after 18 years. Shell will assumes control of nine fuel terminals and two Louisiana refineries, while Saudi Aramco get to keep the Port Arthur refinery – the largest in the U.S. – as well as 26 terminals and fuel licence agreements for the Midwest and Southeast. The move appears to have been spurred on by Saudi Aramco’s decision to do an initial public offering. @dmarino4 summed up the announcement on Twitter, saying ‘Looks like Aramco gets the mansion, Shell the vacation cottages, and they split the kids…’.

Call it the mansion, the lion’s share, or just the largest refinery in the US.   With Saudis in complete control over the refinery, what’s to keep them from bringing in more of their own crude oil into the U.S. for refining and selling in the North American market? . . .