Mitsubishi seeks to sell fuel terminal in California: sources

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Mitsubishi seeks to sell fuel terminal in California: sources

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday that Mitsubishi Corp is looking to sell a fuel terminal that provides transportation fuels that meet California's stringent emissions requirements.

The company is partnering with Ernst and Young's energy advisory group to market its 600,000 barrel Petro-Diamond terminal in Long Beach, California, and its corresponding fuel trading division, the sources said.

The sources said Mitsubishi is looking for either a joint venture partner for Petro-Diamond or an outright sale.

The terminal is the only U.S. refined products asset owned by Mitsubishi, Japan's biggest trading house by sales.

In Singapore, a company called Petro-Diamond PDS was shutting down in 2020 after it said a PDS trader had lost $320 million in unauthorized transactions in crude oil derivatives.

If it doesn't find a suitable buyer, Mitsubishi could still scrap the U.S. terminal, they said. A target valuation for Petro-Diamond could not be determined.

PetroDiamond was founded in 1983 and markets and distributes on-spec transportation fuels in Southern California, including CARB gasoline, low sulfur diesel, ethanol and marine fuels.

In the last year, an executive order required that all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, and that the state reduces the dirtiest forms of oil extraction.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is looking for a buyer for Aera, its California-based oil and gas-producing joint venture with Exxon Mobil Corp, according to a report in July.