HOUSTON, May 24 (Reuters) – American Clean Energy Refining LLC (ACER) is bidding to buy an idled refinery of Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L in Convent, Louisiana, the chief executive of the Baton Rouge-based company said on Sunday night.

ACER has offered $1.25 billion for the idled 211,146 barrel-per-day (bpd) Convent refinery, which was shut in December 2020, Chief Executive Officer George Dabbs said.

A Shell spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Last year, Shell decided to shut the Convent refinery because it was unable to sell it after it became unprofitable amid the loss of demand spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company announced the closure on Nov. 5, while the refinery shutdown was complete on Dec. 14.

Dabbs said the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company had offered $1.75 billion to Shell even before the refinery was shut.

“It’s a crying shame what they are doing,” Dabbs said regarding Shell’s decision to idle the Convent refinery.

If Shell won’t sell the refinery to ACER, the company plans to build a 300,000-bpd refinery along the Mississippi River near the Convent refinery, Dabbs said.

The new refinery would cost $2 billion, he said, adding that ACER got sufficient funds for an acquisition or construction.