Shell said it will convert the site's hydrocracker unit into a production unit for Group III base oils, used mostly in engines, with capacity of about 300,000 metric tons a year, equivalent to about 9% of current EU demand and 40% of Germany’s demand for base oils.
The move is expected to reduce Shell's operational carbon emissions, known as Scope 1 and 2 emissions, by about 620,000 tons a year.
Shell, which aims to cut overall greenhouse gas emissions - including those from fuels burnt by customers - to net zero by 2050, is also planning to sell its refining and petrochemicals site in Singapore.
Crude oil processing at the Wesseling site, which is part of Shell's Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland near Cologne, will end in 2025 but will continue at its Godorf refinery, the company said.
The new production facility in Wesseling is expected to start operations in the second half of this decade.
The Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland, which includes both the Wesseling and Godorf sites, currently has a capacity of more than 17 million tons of crude oil per year, of which Wesseling produces 7.5 million tons.
Shell previously invested in a 10 megawatt electrolyser used to produce zero-carbon hydrogen and a biomethane liquefaction plant at the Rheinland facility.
Since 2020, Shell has divested five refineries, closed one and converted one into a terminal.
