Petroplus Holdings AG faces deceleration in oil refining operations

Petroplus Holdings AG's plant outside London experiences some difficulties in oil refining operations because of a fire earlier this week.

Photo: Petroplus Holdings AG faces deceleration in oil refining operations

Petroplus Holdings AG faces deceleration in oil refining operations

The fire Wednesday damaged a key production unit, the company said, meaning the plant will produce less than half its 220,000 barrel-per-day output for the next month.

Coryton, 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of central London, is the largest refinery owned by Petroplus, which also has plants at Ingolstadt, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; Cressier, Switzerland; and Teesside in northeast England.

Petroplus said it will use existing stocks and third-party purchases to supply customers until the Coryton refinery is repaired.

The announcement comes at a time of record oil prices because of growing concerns about a possible Turkish incursion into Iraq and the threat of harsher U.N. sanctions against Iran.

Petroplus shares dipped 0.5 percent to close at 96.00 Swiss francs (US$83.28; 57.52 EUR) on the Zurich exchange.