Phillips 66 to acquire mothballed UK refinery, associated assets

Phillips 66 Co. subsidiary Phillips 66 Ltd. has entered a deal to acquire Prax Group-owned Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery Ltd.’s shuttered 113,000-b/d refinery and related assets in North Killingholme, Immingham, Lincolnshire, UK.

Announced on Jan. 5, the proposed transaction would include acquisition of the mothballed refinery and associated infrastructure, key assets of which Phillips 66 plans to integrate into its existing 221,000-b/d conventional refinery in Humber, North Lincolnshire, England, the company said.

If finalized, however, the deal—which remains pending subject to customary regulatory clearances—Phillips 66 confirmed it would not restart standalone refinery operations at the Lindsey manufacturing site due to limitations of its scale, installations, and existing capabilities, all of which assessments executed during the bidding process showed would make restart unviable.

Alongside the proposed purchase announcement, Phillips 66 also said it continues to invest in a multiyear project at its Humber site to enable production of higher-quality gasoline by second-quarter 2027 as part of its current capital budget plan.

The planned acquisition of Prax’s Lindsey refinery and related infrastructure follows a June 30, 2025, liquidation order against Prax Group’s Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery, Prax Storage Lindsey Ltd., and Prax Terminals Killingholme Ltd., for which FTI Consulting Inc. served as special manager of refinery assets in a subsequent bidding process.

Future plans, history

Upon completing the deal, Phillips 66 said it expects acquisition of the Lindsey assets to bolster the company’s ability to supply fuel to the UK market from the existing Humber site, boost UK energy security, and support “hundreds of well-paid, high-quality jobs through site operations and future investment.”

While the operator did not reveal the specific nature of planned future investments in the Prax assets, Phillips 66 said, once integrated with Humber, the additional assets could “drive future growth opportunities for both traditional and renewable fuels.

Regarding the decision not to restart Lindsey’s standalone refinery operations, Paul Fursey—Phillip 66 UK’s lead executive—said that the proposed transaction and operating plan is “the best way forward to secure jobs, bolster the local economy, and encourage investment in the region” in the wake of the site’s earlier closure.

Prax Group purchased the Lindsey refinery and related UK downstream assets from TotalEnergies SE in a deal finalized in March 2021.