Gelsenkirchen Sale Trims Oil Giant BP’s Refinery Holdings To 5 Sites

The Ruhr Oel GmbH BP refinery in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo: Ina Fassbender)

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Global energy giant BP (LON: BP) has trimmed its refinery portfolio down to just five sites following the completion of a sale of one its facilities in Gelsenkirchen, Germany to investment firm Klesch Group.

The FTSE 100 company confirmed the sale completion on Monday but did not disclose the deal value on opting to highlight additions to its free cash flow and transfers associated assets and liabilities to Klesch.

The transaction is also “expected to lower underlying operating expenditure by around $1 billion,” it added.

The Gelsenkirchen refinery has the capacity to process approximately 12 metric tons of crude oil per year. The refinery’s workforce of around 1,800 people and its associated businesses have transferred over to Klesch Group under the terms of the deal.

Patrick Wendeler, head of country for Germany at BP, said: “Gelsenkirchen plays an important role in supplying western Germany with fuels and petrochemicals.

“With its refining experience and established presence in Germany, Klesch Group is well placed to take Gelsenkirchen into its next chapter. BP will continue to support customers in Germany through its businesses, including Aral.”

The move is part of ​BP’s ongoing $20 billion divestment plan aimed at cutting its debt and ​boosting returns, which has the support of the company’s new CEO Meg O’Neill.

The sale follows BP’s conclusion that a new owner would be better placed to take the refinery forward to support its long-term future.