Shell's Routs sees pressure on refining margins long term

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) expects oil refining margins in the long term to narrow as new refining capacity comes on stream in the Middle East and Asia, a senior executive said on Friday.

"In the long run there will be quite a lot of new capacity coming online East of Suez that will drive worldwide margins down," Rob Routs, head of Shell's oil refining business, said on a conference call with reporters.

Shell earlier on Friday said it would invest $7 billion (3.5 billion pounds) in the expansion of the Motiva Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, along with its Saudi partner, Saudi Refining.