Shell and Phillips 66 weigh $3.5 bn sale of Explorer Pipeline stakes

Shell and Phillips 66 are evaluating a sale of their combined 61% ownership in the Explorer Pipeline, a U.S. refined‑products network that stretches more than 1,800 miles from Texas Gulf Coast refineries through the Midwest to distribution hubs near Chicago. The potential transaction could value the asset at about $3.5 billion, according to sources familiar with the talks. Investment banks Greenhill, a Mizuho affiliate, and RBC Capital Markets have been hired to run an auction process, though negotiations remain at an early stage.

Energy Transfer and MPLX own the remaining 39% of the pipeline, which can move 660,000 barrels per day on its southern leg and 450,000 barrels per day on the northern leg. The Explorer system is regarded as one of the United States' most important refined‑fuel pipelines, alongside the Colonial Pipeline, which was sold last year for roughly $9 billion.