The government-appointed Official Receiver of the collapsed Prax Lindsey oil refinery does not intend to import product to the site once its remaining fuels have been sold.
That is according to communications from the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) to its members, following a briefing by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
Based on current projections, all main fuels supplied by the refinery in North Killingholme, North Lincolnshire, will have been sold by the end of August, the latest government briefing to the PRA indicates.
Dealers with contracts with Harvest Energy, also part of the Prax Group, are about to enter week six of having no fuel supplies from the business. Instead, still under contract to Harvest Energy, they have been left to source alternative arrangements on the spot market – a move which has cost some tens of thousands of pounds in increased fuel prices and lost trade.
The Official Receiver, as liquidator of the company, is putting in place arrangements to wind down the refinery after no credible buyer was found for the entire site.
Instead, the Official Receiver is pursuing a sale of the refinery’s assets, with the process expected to extend into October.
In the update to the PRA, The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero urged the industry to put contingency plans in place.
“We cannot confirm which assets will or will not be sold. On this basis, we would strongly encourage that the industry make contingency plans for a scenario where there is no further fuel available from the site for an extended period after the end of August,” the update to the PRA states.
Customers should in the first instance refer to conversations they have had with the Official Receiver and its team on specific contract terms, the PRA relays.
FTI Consulting, which has been appointed to oversee the refinery, will be in contact with the company’s customers if it has not been in touch already.
The PRA recommends that members directly affected discuss matters with their fuel supplier.
PRA chief executive Gordon Balmer says: “Please be aware that the PRA is here to help you and we have a range of services available, which includes a legal advice service.”
