Prax inks feedstock supply agreement for UK refinery

Glencore PLC’s Glencore Energy UK Ltd. has agreed to exclusively supply crude oil and associated feedstocks to Prax Group subsidiary Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery Ltd.’s 113,000-b/d refinery in North Killingholme, Immingham, Lincolnshire, UK.

Under the July 9 agreement, Prax will purchase the entirety of its required crude oil and refinery feedstocks for the Lindsey complex from Glencore, which will use its global reach in international oil markets to source the optimal range of crude grades and other feedstocks for the site, Prax said.

The deal follows an original feedstock supply agreement for the Lindsey refinery Prax entered with Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. upon completing purchase of both the refinery and associated logistics assets from TotalEnergies SE in 2021 (OGJ Online, Mar. 2, 2021).

Prax said its new supply partnership with Glencore will support the operator’s ongoing long-term investments in the refinery to transform the site into a next-generation, low-carbon refinery that contributes to the UK’s energy security.

The operator revealed neither a timeframe nor volumes committed under the supply agreement.

Proposed German refinery purchase

As part of its European expansion plans, Prax also has signed an agreement with Shell PLC subsidiary Shell Deutschland GMBH to acquire the latter’s 37.5% minority interest in PCK Raffinerie GMBH's 220,000-b/d refinery in Schwedt, Germany, along the Druzhba pipeline in Schwedt, Germany, about 120 km northeast of Berlin, Prax said in a Dec. 15, 2023, release.

Subject to partner rights and regulatory approvals, Shell confirmed in a separate release that the proposed sale of its interest in the German refinery had been anticipated to close sometime during first-half 2024.

In addition to Shell, PCK is jointly owned by partners Rosneft Deutschland GMBH (37.5%) and AET Raffineriebeteiligungs-Gesellschaft MBH (25%), a joint venture of Rosneft Refining & Marketing GMBH und Eni Deutschland GMBH, according to PCK’s website.