Shell sets up new Asian unit

Shell sets up new Asian unit

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Units of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD) in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines have established a group to coordinate their refining, supply and trading activities, a Singapore-based Shell spokeswoman said yesterday.

Shell's Singapore-based South East Asia Coordination Group was set up in January 1998, the spokeswoman said, confirming an article in yesterday's edition of Singapore's Business Times.

The group "is responsible for coordinating the operations of the Shell refineries in South East Asia in areas such as joint crude purchasing, refinery optimization and coordination of shutdown plans," she said.

The spokeswoman said the group won't make actual crude purchases for the Shell refineries - which remains the responsibility of Shell International Eastern Trading Co.