The Official Receiver has reached a deal with the commodities trading giant, Glencore, that will ensure supplies of crude oil to the ailing Lindsey refinery following its owner’s collapse this week.
Sky News has learnt that the OR – which oversees the initial stages of bankruptcies ordered by a court – struck an agreement with Glencore in the early hours of Friday morning.
Further details of the arrangement were unclear.
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The deal provides a temporary lifeline to the Lindsey refinery in Lincolnshire while the OR and special manager FTI Consulting race to secure the site’s longer term future.
The plant – one of only a handful of oil refineries still operating in the UK – was owned by Prax Group, whose main subsidiary, State Oil, and other entities collapsed into insolvency proceedings on Monday.
Prax Group, which also spans oilfield exploration and fuel retailing, is owned by a husband-and-wife team whose conduct is now the subject of an Insolvency Service investigation.
Ed Miliband, the energy security secretary, ordered the probe after the government was left blindsided by Prax’s financial woes.
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Industry sources are sceptical that a buyer will be found for Lindsey, which could put hundreds of jobs at risk.
Glencore has security over crude oil supplied to the site, although the distribution of finished product is now the responsibility of the OR.
Glencore declined to comment, while the OR could not be reached
