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PRIVATE equity group Goldsmith and the chemical company Klesch are interested in buying the refineries owned by Petroplus, which filed for insolvency last week.

“Petroplus’ refinery businesses in Germany, Britain and Switzerland, but also in France and Belgium are sustainable and interesting, despite the current difficulties in this sector,” Goldsmith Group said in a statement.

Goldsmith, which owns an undisclosed share in Petroplus, is conducting a due diligence prior to making its offer.

Petroplus, Europe’s largest independent refiner, declared itself insolvent after efforts failed to re-open lines of credit that were frozen in December.

Refineries have been struggling in recent years, especially in Europe, where the high cost of fuel has caused demand to drop off as motorists conserve fuel and switch to more efficient vehicles. This has resulted in considerable overcapacity in the sector.

Private chemical company Klesch has said it is only interested in buying the Coryton refinery in the UK, and the Ingolstadt refinery in Germany.

UK energy minister Charles Hendry revealed there has been considerable interest in the UK refinery.

“I understand there have been over 40 expressions of interest in Coryton from companies around the world, which is extremely encouraging,” he said during a meeting he chaired yesterday to discuss the future of the facility.

The news that there are suitors will come as a relief to Petroplus’ 2,500 employees – including 37 members of IChemE – who were told that the refineries were unlikely to find a buyer because they are relatively inflexible in terms of oil feedstock and output.

Last week, a French prosecutor launched an investigation into whether there was an irregular flow of money, around US$131m, from Petroplus’ bank accounts before it filed for insolvency. Petroplus refuted the allegations.

The Swiss firm’s five refineries have a combined capacity of 667,000 bbl/d. In the UK, it also runs an oil storage terminal in Teesside, and a research laboratory in Swansea.

The sale and closure of refineries has become a trend in developed economies in recent years. In the last month alone ExxonMobil has sold its refining business in Japan, and its Port Dickson refinery in Malaysia to focus on more profitable oil exploration and production.

US operator Hess has announced it would shut its Virgin Island refinery after it lost US$1.3b in three years. In January, Total said it might give up its two-year search for a buyer for the UK’s Lindsey oil refinery and will “probably” reintegrate the operation into the group.