Communicator

BP Gelsenkirchen Refinery

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany | February 6, 2025

BP has announced its intention to sell its Ruhr Oel GmbH operations in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, including the refinery and associated petrochemical assets19. The marketing process begins immediately, with BP targeting to complete the sale agreement within 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

The Gelsenkirchen facility, Germany's third-largest refinery, currently processes approximately 12 million tons of crude oil annually and employs around 2,000 workers and 160 apprentices. The sale package includes the BP refinery in Gelsenkirchen and DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

The decision comes amid challenging conditions for European refiners, who face increasing competition from Middle Eastern and Asian facilities, along with pressure from vehicle electrification and high operating costs. BP had already planned to reduce the refinery's capacity from 260,000 barrels per day of crude oil to 155,000 barrels per day in 2025.

Emma Delaney, BP's Executive Vice President for customers and products, explained that the decision aligns with BP's strategy to become a simpler, more focused, higher-value company. The company has recently modernized the facility's infrastructure, including power grid renewal and establishing independent steam supply, making it attractive for potential buyers.

The Gelsenkirchen site plays a crucial role in North Rhine-Westphalia's chemical industry, producing not only conventional fuels but also having the potential to manufacture biofuels and process recycled plastics. The refinery will continue normal operations throughout the sales process.

This move is part of a broader trend in Germany's refining sector, with other major players like Shell and ExxonMobil also seeking to divest their refining assets in the country. Industry analysts expect German crude refining capacity to decrease from 2.1 million barrels per day in 2020 to 1.8 million barrels per day by 2026.

#crudeoil  #refining  #refinery  #bp  #shell  #exxon  #germany  #gelsenkirchen 

Credit: Gunvor, Rotterdam refinery

By Jack Wittels and Alex Longley, November 22, 2024, Bloomberg

Gunvor Group is temporarily halting its Rotterdam oil refinery because it’s not making enough money, the latest sign that the continent’s plants are struggling to compete with upstarts in other parts of the world.

Effective Nov. 25, the so-called economic halt is due to a lack of prompt availability of commercially viable feedstock, the company said in a statement. Gunvor said it will “continue to monitor the situation and assess future resupply for the refinery in due course.”

With a processing capacity of 75,000 barrels a day, the plant is relatively tiny. Still, it joins a growing list of European refineries with plans to either halt or downsize, including the Wesseling and Gelsenkirchen plants in Germany and the Grangemouth facility in Scotland.

Europe’s refineries are under pressure from large, new plants, including in the Middle East and Africa, such as Nigeria’s giant new Dangote refinery. The rival fuelmakers can send what they make to Europe, and also compete for market share elsewhere in the world.

#gunvor  #refinery  #europe  #rotterdam  #wesseling  #gelsenkirchen  #grangemounth  #petroineos  #lyondellbasell  #ineos  #nigeria  #dangote  #crudeoil  #bp