27-08-2012

Gunvor starts Ingolstadt refinery

Gunvor Group Ltd has commenced operations at the former Petroplus refinery in Ingolstadt, Germany, having completed the acquisition of the refinery assets and relevant marketing activities. All regulatory and merger control approvals have been obtained. The official closing date was on August 23, and the first crude vessel has already discharged to supply the refinery.

The German entities, which will retain all of their more than 400 employees, will be named Gunvor Raffinerie Ingolstadt GmbH; the refinery’s German marketing arm will be Gunvor Deutschland GmbH, and will continue to serve the markets in Southern Germany und Upper Austria—restoring important fuel supply and competition to the land-locked area.

“Gunvor is proud to welcome Ingolstadt’s workforce to our growing and diverse family,” said Gunvor Group Ltd CEO Torbjörn Törnqvist. “We intend to build upon the good and enduring customer relationships, and enlarge our trading activities in Germany and the Alpine region. Gunvor has a long-term perspective for the Ingolstadt facility.”

The refinery in Ingolstadt is among the most efficient refineries in Europe thanks to its skilled and highly experienced employees, as well as continuous investment in maintaining its assets in excellent condition. It also has strong local connections in Bavaria, one of the biggest growth regions in Germany.

The production capacity amounts to approximately 100,000 barrels per day. Depending on the product (bitumen, mogas, diesel, heating oil) the refinery served 20-30 percent of the market in Bavaria and the connected regions. The Transalpine (TAL) pipeline, which originates in Trieste, Italy, supplies crude oil to the refinery.

For Gunvor, one of the world’s largest independent commodity traders, the acquisition of the Ingolstadt refinery and the connected marketing activities is the first step to establishing a presence in Germany. Gunvor also strengthens its European market position, adding to its current refinery investment in Antwerp, Belgium.

Refineries complement Gunvor’s trading function, which can create greater operational efficiency across the supply chain. Gunvor is leveraging its expertise and excellent relationships with crude suppliers to gain access to the types of crude oils processed at its refineries.

Gunvor is further investing in its refineries to ensure legal compliance and business development. It has the ambition to achieve operational excellence by keeping Health, Safety and the Environment (HSE) as priority in all its decisions to build the future on a solid foundation.