Screw tightens on European refining
07 February 2012
Petroplus collapsed into administration in January, dashing hopes for the low-cost business model favoured by the independents and underlining the troubles in Europe's refining sector, Martin Quinlan writes
SWITZERLAND-based oil refiner Petroplus sought administration in January, after lenders cut off its credit, stopping crude purchases, and then blocked products from leaving its Coryton, UK, refinery. A few days earlier, Petroplus had said it would sell its Petit Couronne refinery in France and was considering the sale of its Antwerp, Belgium, and Cressier, Switzerland, facilities - it also owns the Ingolstadt refinery, in Germany.
The collapse - attributed by the company to the "difficult European credit and refining markets" - could mark the end for the low-cost business model adopted by Petroplus. Europe's largest independent refiner was set up in 1993 to operate in storage and trading. It acquired its refineries mostly from the majors: Cressier, Petit Couronne and Reichstett (now converted into a storage terminal) from Shell; Ingolstadt from ExxonMobil; Coryton from BP; Antwerp from Belgian Refining; and Teesside (also now a storage terminal) from ConocoPhillips and ICI.
For most, it...