Owner decides not to sell Whitegate refinery

The multinational owner of the Republic's only oil refinery has decided not to sell the plant as it is too profitable.

US-based ConocoPhillips confirmed yesterday it had decided against selling the Whitegate oil refinery in Cork Harbour.

The group bought it as part of the Irish National Petroleum Corporation in 2001 for €117 million, and put the facility on the market last January. However it recently decided against selling the plant.

A group spokesman told The Irish Times yesterday that "the simple explanation is that the company believes there is more value in continuing to operate Whitegate rather than in selling it".

A number of groups, including Topaz, the Denis O'Brien-backed vehicle that has the Statoil and Shell service station franchises in the Republic, considered buying Whitegate.

The refinery processes 71 million barrels of oil a year. In 2006 it made a profit of €46 million from a turnover of €1.4 billion.