(Bloomberg) — Chevron Corp. is interested in buying Phillips 66’s stake in a chemicals joint venture that activist Elliott Investment Management LP is pushing the oil refiner to exit, according to people familiar with the matter.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Chevron is looking to increase exposure to petrochemicals at the right price and could target its Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. JV should Phillips 66 be open to it, said the people, who asked not to be named because the considerations are private.
Both Chevron and Phillips 66 have a right-of-first-refusal over each other’s stakes, according to regulatory filings. That means if they wish to sell, they must first offer the deal to the other partner.
Spokespeople for Chevron and Phillips 66 declined to comment for this article.
Chevron has been interested in buying out the stake for some time, the people added. No talks are under way and it’s unclear whether Phillips 66 is amenable to parting with the stake or what it could be valued at.
Elliott, the hedge fund that went public with its plan for changes at Phillips 66 earlier this month, said in its materials that the stake could be worth about about $15 billion in a potential sale. But that valuation could vary considerably depending on the outlook for chemical margins, which are currently near multi-year lows.
Elliott earmarked the refiner’s 50% holding in CPChem as an asset that should be sold as part of a push to focus Phillips 66 on its core fuel-making business.
“This business would likely attract significant interest from the existing JV partner or another buyer,” Elliott said in an investor presentation this month titled “Streamline66.”
Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth highlighted chemicals as having “really robust demand growth” due to more people entering the middle class globally and a greater need for energy-efficient, lightweight plastics in airplanes and vehicles in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Feb. 5.
“Demand for petrochemicals will be strong,” he said. “That’s another sector we’d be interested in.”
Chevron and Phillips 66 established the CPChem joint venture in 2000 as they combined two mid-size chemicals companies. After building highly-profitably plants in the Middle East and along the US Gulf Coast, it grew to become the world’s 32nd-largest chemical company by revenue in 2023, according to ICIS, an industry consultant and data provider.
Story Continues
