Stanlow Refinery
Coordinates: 53°16′22″N 2°50′24″W / 53.27278°N 2.84°W
| Stanlow Refinery | |
|---|---|
 Looking towards Runcorn, with Stanlow Refinery in the bottom right corner. The refinery sits alongside the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey. |
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| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Province | Cheshire, North West England |
| Refinery details | |
| Owner(s) | Essar Energy |
| Commissioned | 1924 |
| Capacity | 12,000,000 tonnes |
| Number of employees | 800 |
Stanlow Refinery is an oil refinery owned by Essar Energy[1] in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, North West England. It was previously owned by Royal Dutch Shell until 2011. The refinery is situated on the south bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, which is used to transport seaborne oil and chemicals for Essar and Shell.[2] Stanlow and Thornton railway station serves employees and visitors to the refinery.
Stanlow has a refining capacity of 12 million tonnes per year, the second largest in the United Kingdom after Fawley refinery,[3] and produces a sixth of the UK's petrol needs.[4] The majority of output at Stanlow however is for commodities such as kerosene and bitumen.[5]
Although situated in North West England, the refinery serves much of England as it is linked to Coryton Refinery in Essex through the UK oil pipeline network. Oil is delivered to Stanlow via ship where it is then refined stored at Eastham Oil Terminal and Tranmere Oil Terminal.
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[edit] History
The refinery occupies nearly 1,900 acres (7.7 km2) near the River Mersey and dates back to 1924, when a small bitumen plant was established.[6]
In the 1970s an oil pipeline was constructed from Amlwch, Anglesey to Stanlow. Crude oil was pumped ashore from tankers moored at deep-water pontoons. The pipeline closed in the early 1980s.[7]
Crude oil is now received lower down river on the Mersey at the Tranmere Oil Terminal, operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board from its Liverpool headquarters, and is transferred via a fifteen mile (24 km) pipeline to storage at Stanlow. Output is delivered by pipeline via the UK oil pipeline network, road and the Manchester Ship Canal.
In 2011, Stanlow was sold by Shell to Essar Energy for approximately $1.3 billion (£814m).[8] Essar has stated their desire to expand the site with an 25% increase in output.[9]
[edit] Statistics
- Storage capacity: 2 million tonnes of crude oil and products [6]
- Refining capacity: 12 million tonnes per year. The manufacturing complex employs 800 people.
- Barrel per day output: 272,000 bbl/d (43,200 m3/d)[10]
- Product output
[edit] Cultural references
In 1980, the British synth pop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark featured a song about the refinery called "Stanlow" on their second album, Organisation.
Jesu's 2007 album Conqueror features a track titled "Stanlow" that concerns itself with the refinery.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.essar.com/section_level1.aspx?cont_id=kTlcETqPrco=
- ^ "Manchester Ship Canal". Peel Ports. http://www.shipcanal.co.uk/manchester-ship-canal/service-info.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
- ^ "The £100 fill-up looms for motorists as one of the UK's biggest refineries goes bankrupt". Daily Mail. 24 January 2012. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2091004/Petroplus-bankruptcy-Drivers-face-fuel-shortages-Coryton-refinery-goes-bust.html. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
- ^ "Stanlow Manufacturing Complex". Shell. http://www.shell.co.uk/home/content/gbr/aboutshell/shell_businesses/oil_products/. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
- ^ "Stanlow refinery sold for £219m". Manchester Evening News. 18 February 2011. http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1408643_stanlow_refinery_sold_for_219m. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
- ^ a b Interactive Guide to UK Refineries: Stanlow (Shell), energyinst.org.uk, http://www.energyinst.org.uk/education/refineries/stanlow.htm, retrieved 28 August 2007
- ^ Sallery,, Dave, The Associated Octel Company and the Amlwch branch, http://www.penmorfa.com/Archive/one.html, retrieved 1 August 2008
- ^ "Royal Dutch Shell to sell Stanlow refinery for $1.3bn". BBC News. 29 March 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12895521. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
- ^ Barrett, Jayne (30 March 2011). "New Stanlow refinery boss promises expansion". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12909800. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
- ^ "Shell receives offer for Stanlow refinery in the UK". Shell UK. 18 February 2011. http://www.shell.com/home/content/investor/news_and_library/2011_media_releases/offer_essar_stanlow_refinery_18022011.html. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
[edit] External links
- Stanlow United Website of the Stanlow unionised workforce.
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