Argus Market News:

The capacity reduction is likely to involve one of the crude distillation units (CDUs) being taken out of service, although a BP spokesman could not confirm whether it will be a CDU at the Scholven or Horst section of the refinery.

The refinery is "currently not competitive", according to a statement by refinery head Arno Appel. Challenges include being "too complex" to operate with "structural costs that are too high", he said, possibly alluding to how the refinery is spread over two separate sites.

BP plans to shift focus at Gelsenkirchen towards petrochemicals and low-emission fuels. The hydrocracker at the refinery will start co-processing biofuels, meaning that renewable components will be mixed into its feedstock. BP said this will enable output of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) among other products.

BP said the refinery's crude capacity will fall from around 12mn t/yr now to around 8mn t/yr. Five units in total will be closed across the Scholven and Horst sites, it said. The firm declined to specify which units.