Ellesmere Port’s oil refinery has delivered a robust financial performance in the last 12 months according to the latest full year results from owners and operator Essar Oil UK.

Earnings before interest, taxes and other costs were $300m with profit after tax of $161m.

The refinery also saw the completion of its largest ever upgrade costing almost $260m which Essar says ‘will further enhance reliability and profitability’.

With total output affected by the major turnaround Essar says revenues were still up at $5.4bn compared with $4.9bn in the previous year, a rise of more than 10%. Due to the shutdown it processed 7.19m metric tonnes of crude, down from 9.09m in the previous year.

But nonetheless it achieved the basic earnings of $300m for a third consecutive year.

The profit after tax of over $160m, down by just over 4%, was achieved despite Stanlow running for only nine months in the financial year due to the shutdown period involving the upgrade works.

Stanlow Oil Refinery by Rob Wright

It was operating on a refining margin of $9.4 a barrel up from $8.4 in the previous year, a rise of over 11%, the figures show.

Completion of the ‘ Tiger Cub’ improvement project and Stanlow’s largest ever turnaround will deliver enhanced yields of high value products, reduce crude costs and drive revenue growth Essar believes.

Improvements at the refinery mean it can now handle 75m barrels of crude a year, up from 68m.

Essar has also revealed it has secured ‘many new contracts’ for the direct supply of aviation fuel to airline businesses while the expansion of its award winning UK retail network has seen over 50 filling stations open by the end of March. The first company owned, flagship site will open opposite the Stanlow refinery later this year.

It describes Stanlow as ‘a key national asset’ producing over 16% of the UK’s road transport fuel demand.

Project upgrades during the recent turnaround are expected to lead to financial improvements of between $75m and $80m annually in the prevailing market.

Essar Oil UK chairman Prashant Ruia said: “Stanlow has emerged as a top tier refinery in Europe, with 16% market share in the UK and a growing presence in the retail and aviation sectors. We will continue to make proactive investments in technology to build a sustainable business that remains competitive in the rapidly changing global energy market.”

Stanlow Oil Refinery

The company’s chief executive officer S. Thangapandian, commented: “Overall this was ultimately a robust performance following a record breaking first six months of the financial year.

“The major turnaround proved a complex and challenging period and we will ensure all learnings are rigorously understood and implemented for the future.

“The completion of project Tiger Cub was a major positive and is already exceeding our expectations in some respects. Going forward the focus remains on the delivery of further margin booster initiatives to improve yields and increase volumes to grow market share.”

Including the last 12 months Essar has invested over $850m since acquiring Stanlow in July 2011, ‘helping to turn around the business and build a company that is both profitable and sustainable’.

Its board says it has ‘a strategic focus’ to further improve the financial performance of the company through the continued growth and development of the business in the UK and beyond.

A key priority is increasing market share for the direct supply of aviation fuel to leading airlines with agreements now in place with airlines at a number of UK airports. Essar also remains ‘a major player’ in the wholesale supply of jet fuel to UK airports.

It adds safety ‘remains a core value’ with continuous investment in health, safety and the environment to further improve standards and reduce risk. The recent turnaround is said to have been the safest carried out in Stanlow’s history ‘with world class personal safety results’.

Stanlow’s output includes 3bn litres of petrol, 4.4bn litres of diesel and 2.1bn litres of jet fuel a year.