Uncertain future for oil refinery (From Western Telegraph)

Uncertain future for oil refinery

Texaco Oil Refinery at Pembroke will be 'fighting for its life' over the next two years.

Oil giant Chevron has declared its European arm 'non strategic'. But although refinery general manager Phil Walters has denied the refinery is up for sale, one observer commented: "The refinery is no longer regarded as part of the company's core business. It means that a £2 billion paper asset will no longer be wanted."

Refinery staff were informed only a few weeks ago that there will be a 15% cutback in a bid to streamline the plant. This will mean 120 redundancies next year.

Mr Walters told the Western Telegraph: "Chevron has met with analysts and identified those places which are strategic and those which are non strategic. Europe has been identified as non strategic."

He said that evaluation of the refinery would continue over the next couple of years. "This is a very difficult business environment at present, but Pembroke is well positioned to go forward," he insisted.

"The refinery is not up for sale, and certainly we have no understanding that anyone else in the oil business is in the market for another refinery."

A spokesman for Exxon, which owns the Esso Refinery Fawley, said that as this was fresh information she was unable to comment whether the company would be interested in the Pembroke refinery.

Union leader Danny Fellows said: "However unpleasant the job losses are, the company has to be in a position to compete with other refineries in the UK.

"The refinery at Pembroke has a very energetic management team who believe that it can be turned around and into a different direction to give the refinery a lifeline. We must all hope so, for the sake of Pembrokeshire and west Wales."

The Texaco refinery has been undergoing a £113 million upgrade and maintenance programme. A major shutdown - the largest for a number of years - takes place next month and will continue for six weeks, employing between 2,500 and 3,000 people.

The Gulf Oil Refinery at Waterston was in the ownership of Chevron when it was closed down in 1997/98 with the loss of over 350 well-paid jobs.

Chevron merged with Texaco in 2001 and it is understood that a moratorium was imposed on the company not to divest any assets for two years. The two years would be up towards the end of this year.