Unocal Considering Proposal to Sell Brea-Based Research Unit

Unocal Corp., continuing the long process of refocusing its business, said Monday that it is negotiating to sell one of its research units to a private company that recently submitted an unsolicited offer.

The possible sale of its process technology and licensing business, which could come by the end of the year, could mean the loss of 113 jobs from Unocal’s 600-member work force at the Brea research center.

The buyer, whose name Unocal would not release yet, would likely fold the Unocal unit into its existing facilities out of state, said Barry Lane, a Unocal spokesman. The sale would include about 200 U.S. patents and about 300 licenses with third parties who use various process technologies developed by Unocal.

Since 1988, Lane said, Unocal has been shifting its business focus to rely less on oil refining and more on overseas oil and gas exploration and production. With less reliance on its refinery system, the company has scaled down its research.