A U.S. court on Thursday tossed out a request from two laundromat owners to block Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) from acquiring majority control of a Texas oil refinery.
Royal Dutch Shell RDS-A-N in May agreed to sell Pemex its majority stake in the 302,800 barrel per day (bpd) Deer Park refinery outside Houston. The deal with Pemex, its long-time partner in the plant, was said to be worth about $596-million.
U.S. District Court Judge Lee Rosenthal denied requests for a temporary restraining order and expedited discovery filed by two businessmen who argued the sale would increase U.S. energy prices.
Aaron Hagele and Andrew Sarcinella, owners of a Mt. Vernon, N.Y., coin-operated laundromat who filed the lawsuit, claimed the sale would raise U.S. gasoline prices, harm their customers and reduce their profits.
Their laundromat business would suffer “an incalculable but evident” harm if more of the refinery’s fuel output is exported, according to a filing in U.S. District Court for Southern District of Texas.
A Shell spokesman said the oil major was pleased the court recognized there was no legal basis to pause the transaction. Pemex and Shell “are looking forward to closing as soon as possible.”
Neither Pemex nor a lawyer for Hagele and Sarcinella could immediately be reached for further comment.
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