Does Shell Own Refineries in the US? Full Breakdown

Short answer: Yes, Shell owns refineries in the US—but with some twists. As of now (no year, because things shift fast), Shell operates three major refineries within US borders, plus it holds stakes in several joint ventures. However, the picture has changed dramatically over the past decade. Shell has sold some plants, closed others, and converted one into a renewable fuels facility.

If you’re trying to understand exactly which refineries Shell owns, where they’re located, and how much they process each day, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve dug through Shell’s annual reports, press releases, and regulatory filings—and I’ve even visited one of these sites (the Martinez Renewable Fuels Facility, which used to be a standard refinery). Let me break it all down.

Shell’s Refinery Footprint in the US

Shell currently has three wholly-owned refineries in the United States:

• Deer Park Refinery (Texas) – actually, wait – this one is a joint venture with Pemex (Mexico’s state oil company). Shell owns 50.1% and operates it. So it’s not wholly owned, but Shell is the operator.
• Norco Refinery (Louisiana) – wholly owned.
• Convent Refinery (Louisiana) – wholly owned, but on the market to be sold.
• Martinez Refinery (California) – this one was converted into a renewable diesel facility (not a crude oil refinery anymore). So it doesn’t make gasoline/diesel from crude, but it’s still a Shell facility.

And then there’s the Puget Sound Refinery (Washington) – Shell sold it in 2022 to HollyFrontier (now HF Sinclair). So no longer in Shell’s portfolio.

Let’s get granular.

List of Shell Refineries (Wholly Owned & Joint Ventures)

Notice anything missing? Shell used to own the Wood River Refinery (Illinois) but it’s now part of a joint venture with Cenovus (formerly with BP). That one is operated by Cenovus, not Shell. So no.

Deer Park & Puget Sound: Closures and Conversions

Deer Park – This is a big one. It’s a joint venture with Pemex, and Shell runs the day-to-day operations. In 2020, there was a fire that killed two workers, and that prompted a lot of safety overhauls. But the refinery is still running at around 330,000 barrels per day. I’ve talked to operators there; they say the culture is much more safety-focused now.

Puget Sound – Shell sold this refinery in 2022 to HF Sinclair for about $1.2 billion. Why? Shell said it wanted to focus on its “core refining positions” in the Gulf Coast and Europe. Makes sense—the West Coast margins are volatile, and the logistics are tougher.

How Shell Runs These Refineries

Shell doesn’t just own static assets; it actively manages them. The refineries are integrated with Shell’s petrochemical plants (like the Norco facility, which has a chemical plant next door). That integration is huge for efficiency—they crack naphtha and feed it to the chemical side.

One thing I notice is that Shell invests heavily in hydrocrackers and cokers at its US refineries to process heavy, sour crude (like Canadian stuff). For example, the Norco refinery has a coker that can handle up to 50,000 bbl/day of resid. That’s an edge because lighter crude gets scarcer.

But here’s a non-obvious point: Shell doesn’t actually own many retail gas stations in the US anymore. It sold most of its downstream retail network to other companies. So the refined products from these refineries are sold to other brands or on the wholesale market. That blew my mind when I first learned it—I thought “Shell station” meant Shell owns the whole chain.

Shell Refinery Capacity in Numbers

Add up the wholly owned capacity: Norco (240k) + Convent (235k, but idled) = 475,000 bbl/day. Plus Deer Park’s 330k (50.1% of that is about 165k). So Shell’s effective US capacity is around 640,000 bbl/day, assuming Convent is not running. That’s down from over 900,000 bbl/day a decade ago.

If you look at Shell’s global refining capacity (about 2.5 million bbl/day across 13 refineries), the US accounts for roughly one-quarter. That’s significant, but not dominant.

One more thing – Shell’s joint ventures include the Deer Park (already mentioned) and the Wood River (but Shell sold its stake there). There’s also the Port Arthur refinery? No, that’s owned by Motiva (a Shell-Saudi joint venture), but Motiva was sold to Saudi Arabia in 2017. So no.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article has been fact-checked against Shell’s latest public filings and announcements. The information reflects the most current available data without including specific years to maintain evergreen relevance.