Shell has drawn interest from potential bidders including Exxon Mobil and Apollo for its multibillion-dollar chemicals assets as the oil major looks to offload underperforming parts of its operations. The company's chemicals plants are located across four sites in the United States, Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands, producing chemicals for plastics, detergents and pharmaceuticals. The sites include the vast [ADDRESS], which started operations in 2022 and in which Shell has invested $14bn of capital, producing up to 1.6mn tonnes of polymers a year.

Bidders including Exxon, Lyondell, private equity group Apollo and the chemicals arm of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation have expressed interest in the assets. Cumulatively, the assets could fetch as much as $8bn, representing a steep discount to the amount of capital Shell has invested in its chemical facilities. The energy major is also working with advisers to market its chemical assets in [ADDRESS], although those are likely to be worth far less.

Shell's exit from chemicals comes as other oil companies, including Chevron, Adnoc and Saudi Aramco have expanded or considered expanding their investments in the sector. While demand for road fuels is expected to decline, demand for chemicals is projected to continue to grow. The mooted asset sales come as Shell aims to refocus its business on its core oil and gas operations.

Shell this year agreed to buy Canadian shale producer ARC Resources for $16.4bn in its largest acquisition for a decade. Shell, Exxon and Apollo declined to comment.