Coryton oil refinery future secured for three months (From Echo)

Coryton oil refinery future secured for three months

12:18pm Wednesday 15th February 2012 in News

An Essex oil refinery that went bust has seen its immediate future secured under a deal that will provide it with work for the next three months.

The Coryton plant, which supplies 20% of fuel in London and the South East, was recently plunged into administration by its Swiss owner Petroplus, prompting fears of up to 1,000 job losses.

But a consortium of financiers has now reached an agreement with administrators PwC that will see them pay to refine oil at the plant for the next three months.

Normally, Coryton would own the oil it refines but this temporary deal will see the plant's services effectively hired out by the consortium, who will supply their own oil.

The deal, involving Morgan Stanley bank and private equity firms KKR Asset Management and AtlasInvest, will allow work to continue and give administrators extra time to look for a buyer or seek a refinancing.

See tomorrow's Echo for the full story