European independent refiner Klesch Group has completed its previously announced deal to acquire bp plc’s 265,000-b/d refinery and related assets in Gelsenkirchen and Horst and Scholven, Germany, which is operated as an integrated refining and petrochemical site

With the transaction finalized as of Aug. 3, Klesch has taken full ownership of bp’s interest in the Gelsenkirchen refinery and related Bottrop tank farm; DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH, a subsidiary; interests in logistics joint ventures; and marketing businesses related to petrochemicals and unbranded B2B fuels produced at the site, bp and Klesch said in separate statements.

The parties did not reveal financial details of the sale.

Divestment of the Gelsenkirchen assets supports bp’s continued strategy of focusing on disciplined capital allocation concentrated on assets and markets where the company feels it can be most competitive, said Richard Harding, bp’s interim executive vice-president of downstream.

With the sale completed, bp said it expects to lower its underlying operating expenses by about $1 billion, which includes relieving the company from pension obligations, provisions, and other short-term liabilities associated with the site.

The more-than 1,700 employees working at the refinery and in the associated businesses involved in the sale have all transferred to Klesch as part of the transaction in support of the new owner’s plan to secure the refinery’s long-term future, the counterparties said.

bp’s said it will retain its remaining portfolio, which post-transaction, consists of five refineries including its:

• 238,450-b/d Cherry Point refinery in Blaine, Wash., near Bellingham.
• 440,000-b/d refinery in Whiting, Ind.
• 104,500-b/d refinery in Castellón, Spain.
• 100,000-b/d Lingen refinery in northwest Germany’s Emsland region.
• 400,000-b/d refinery at Europoort-Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

With closing of the transaction, Klesch now owns and operates three European refineries that, in addition to Gelsenkirchen, include the 90,400-b/d Heide refinery in Germany and the 110,000-b/d Kalundborg refinery in Denmark.