£2bn oil refinery is set for 2014 opening
PLANS for a major oil refinery on Teesside are still on track in spite of plummeting oil prices and tough trading conditions.
Sonhoe’s £2bn heavy oil processing plant is the single largest investment of its kind in the Tees Valley.
But while the cost of oil has nose-dived to around a third of July’s record 147 US dollars a barrel, bosses say that doesn’t affect the future viability of the plant and the project is still on track to open in 2014.
In a joint statement with Sonhoe, Tees Valley Regeneration’s strategic investment and marketing director Neil Kenley said the global demand for diesel was continuing to rise.
“Despite the global economic downturn, the fundamentals of the project still stack up.
“Millions of barrels of heavy crude are being extracted from oil wells across the globe and millions of barrels of heavy crude remain in the ground. Commercially sensitive due diligence continues behind the scenes and the team behind the plant is working flat out with Tees Valley Regeneration to finalise the scheme.
“The plant will produce millions of barrels of vital diesel and naphtha. There is an estimated 50 million tonne per annum shortage of diesel forecasted for Europe by 2015. This Tees Valley facility would make up about seven to 10% of this deficit.”
The project is expected to create more than 2,500 supply-chain jobs and around 400 on-site jobs during construction and operation.
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