The administrators of Coryton refinery owner Petroplus have told creditors that if refinancing and restructuring is not possible, a sale of the Essex refinery and closure are being explored as alternatives.

In a proposal to the company’s creditors, the administrators have set out the actions they have taken to date and described how they are seeking to restructure the company. The report identifies that the company has more than $2.3bn of creditors, including $1.75bn in relation to guarantees of four public note issues by other companies in the Petroplus group. The company’s assets include the oil refinery at Coryton, held at a book value of $1.3bn and approximately $250m of accounts receivable, mainly from other Petroplus companies across Europe, which are also in insolvency proceedings.

Steven Pearson, joint administrator and Price Waterhouse Cooper partner, said: "To continue operations at the refinery in the medium-term the company will need some $1bn of new financing."