US oil entrepreneur Gary Klesch is coming to the aid of Mildford Haven oil refineries, saving hundreds of jobs and pulling one of Great Britain’s last surviving oil refineries out of the dust.

The British oil refinery, located in southwest Wales, is owned by Murphy Oil, an American company. After years of struggling to find a buyer, the company feared that the plant could close within the week. That’s where the US oil tycoon comes in. The Klesch Group, Mr. Klesch’s commodities conglomerate based in Switzerland, signed an agreement to buy the Welsh oil refinery. Any deal struck between the two companies would value the plant at close to zero, although the amount to be paid for the plant would also include oil inventories.

Additionally, Mr. Klesch’s negotiations with the Department of Energy & Climate Change and the Treasury over a financial package will provide relief to the plant’s 500 staff.

As of April, after the site stopped accepting crude oil shipments, Murphy Oil has also started a consultation period with the Welsh refinery’s employees and unions.

Mr. Klesch has been a key member in other prominent restructurings, such as Eurotunnel and Eurodisney. Stephen Crabb, the Member of Parliament for Presli Pembrokeshire, a constituency of the British Parliament, praises Mr. Klesch in his principles, and says that “it is a hugely positive step forward.”

Mr. Crabb continues, “The sale will secure hundreds of high quality jobs and will enable the refinery to continue operating fully. I am very optimistic that the sale can be completed.”

However, a formal agreement for purchase has yet to be signed. A spokesman for Murphy Oil revealed that “substantial work has yet to be done.”

“Murphy feels that solid progress has been made in negotiations, but these sales are especially challenging and we are not assured of success,” he says.

Murphy Oil trades in Britain as Murco. It bought the Milford Haven refinery in 2007, and has been trying to find a buyer since 2011. The 41 year-old plant is barely surviving, and is currently recycling oil products to keep itself operational. However, it is capable of producing 135,000 barrels of oil a day.

Mildford Haven is the smallest of seven of Great Britain’s remaining oil refineries. This number has steadily decreased from 19 at the peak of the North Sea boom.

 

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