04.06.2007
Petroplus completes purchase of Coryton Refinery
Coryton Refinery is pleased to announce that Petroplus Holdings AG has today, 1st June 2007, completed its purchase of the Coryton Refinery (copy of Petroplus Press Release below).
Rick Hale, Refinery Manager, commented "This is an important day for Coryton Refinery. We are very much looking forward to becoming part of the Petroplus organization and the opportunities this will offer us".
Clark Wrigley, General Manager, North Sea Refining said "Coryton Refinery, with its talented employees is a key asset for Petroplus and we look forward to becoming part of the local community".
Further information:
Georgina Clark,
Public Affairs Adviser
Petroplus Coryton Refinery
Tel: 01375 646591
PRESS RELEASE
Petroplus Completes Purchase of Coryton Refinery
01.06.2007
Petroplus Holdings AG today announced that it has completed its purchase of the Coryton refinery located on the Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom. The Coryton refinery has a crude throughput capacity of 172,000 barrels per day and can run up to an additional 70,000 barrels per day of other feedstocks. Coryton's major units include atmospheric and vacuum distillation units, a catalytic reformer, a fluid catalytic cracking unit, as well as several hydrotreating units.
Thomas D. O'Malley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Petroplus, commented on the acquisition, "with the Coryton refinery, we are adding an additional 55% of refining capacity while increasing the overall complexity of our refining system. This facility is well situated within our North Sea Refining system and should provide for synergistic opportunities with our existing refining and processing assets in Belgium and the UK. The addition of Coryton is a tremendous achievement for our company and we are very pleased to add a refinery of its size and capabilities, along with a highly qualified workforce, to our company".
Commenting on the financing for the acquisition, Karyn F. Ovelmen, Chief Financial Officer of Petroplus, said, "the purchase, including inventory and other adjustments totaled approximately $1.6 billion, was financed with proceeds from our issuance of corporate bonds, cash on hand and drawings under our working capital facilities. After the financing for this acquisition, our debt outstanding is approximately $1.6 billion and our total debt-to-total capitalization is about 42%".
Petroplus Holdings AG is the largest independent refiner and wholesaler of petroleum products in Europe. Petroplus focuses on refining and currently owns and operates five refineries across Europe - the Coryton refinery on the Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom, the Ingolstadt refinery in Ingolstadt, Germany, the Belgium Refining Company refinery in Antwerp, Belgium, the Cressier refinery in the canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland, and the Teesside refinery in Teesside, United Kingdom. The refineries have a combined throughput capacity of approximately 625,000 bpd.
CONTACT: Petroplus Holdings AG
Colin Murray, +41 (0) 58 580 1166 or Heather Zorge, +41 (0) 58 580 1244
