Puma Energy completes purchase of Murco’s UK refinery, terminals

July 2, 2015
Singapore-based Puma Energy Group Pte. has completed its purchase of UK midstream and downstream assets from Murco Petroleum Ltd., a subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corp., including the shuttered 135,000-b/d Milford Haven refinery at Pembrokeshire, on the west coast of Wales.

Singapore-based Puma Energy Group Pte. has completed its purchase of UK midstream and downstream assets from Murco Petroleum Ltd., a subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corp., including the shuttered 135,000-b/d Milford Haven refinery at Pembrokeshire, on the west coast of Wales (OGJ Online, Mar. 17, 2015).

In addition to closing the deal, Puma Energy has obtained all required government and HMRC licenses to proceed with its plan to convert the closed refinery into a storage facility—one of the largest in northwestern Europe—that will house a full range of international fuel imports for distribution to local markets, the company said.

The refinery-cum-storage facility’s strategic location and size will enable large import volumes and play a key role in ensuring a secure supply of finished oil products to the UK and Ireland, Puma Energy said.

In addition to the Milford Haven refinery, the acquisition includes three inland terminals at Westerleigh, Theale, and Bedworth, as well as Murco’s UK wholesale and distribution business.

Puma Energy previously said the purchase of Murco’s assets would add about 1.4 million cu m in midstream storage capacity to its existing 5.6 million cu m.

Murco Petroleum confirmed it was decommissioning the refinery to be operated solely as a petroleum storage and distribution terminal (OGJ Online, Nov. 5, 2014).

The refinery’s sale and closure came as part of Murphy Oil’s strategy to divest its UK downstream operations (OGJ Online, Oct. 16, 2012).