Indian conglomerate Essar acquired the giant Stanlow oil refinery close to the Mersey in 2011 and has since seen big ups and downs – including a major funding crisis following COVID. Tony McDonough reports
Located close to the River Mersey the Stanlow oil refinery at Ellesmere Port has one of the biggest economic footprints of any commercial entity in the North West.
More than 2,000 people work at the site, with around 1,200 directly employed as well as up to 900 contractors. In the wider economy it supports 5,000 jobs and spends £426m in the supply chain each year.
Its workers’ salaries are roughly double the regional median and there are also more than 100 apprentices on site. It paid £11.8m in business rates in 2025, including £9.8m to Cheshire West and Chester Council and £1.35m to Wirral Council.
Originally owned by Shell, which opened the facility just over a century ago in 1924, the refinery was acquired by Indian conglomerate Essar in 2011. Essar has invested £1bn into the site since then and is this year celebrating the 15th anniversary of its ownership.
However, back in 2021 Stanlow faced one of the most challenging periods in its history. It supplied multiple refined oil products most notably 16% of all road fuels in the UK as well as planes at several airports including Liverpool and Manchester.
But COVID lockdowns had taken a heavy toll on the business. Car usage had plummeted as people stayed at home and the global aviation sector was pretty much shut down. Demand for fuel was at an all-time low.
Running an oil refinery is an expensive business and when people stopped buying the costs started to mount up. In April 2021 LBN reported the business was in talks with lenders to secure a cash lifeline.
That finally came through in May of that year when Essar UK secured a new £600m credit facility, strengthening its financial position. The funding was made up of liquidity from a diversified range of sources.
Today, Stanlow is in a much stronger position, although its most recent financial results revealed revenues flat at £7.6bn and pre-tax losses coming in at a hefty £241m. This prompted it to implement a turnaround plan.
Its latest push is to decarbonise the operations at the plant with £4.3bn being invested to build a hydrogen-led energy transition hub. This is linked to the wider HyNet project which will produce hydrogen burning natural gas with the CO2 emission to be captured and stored in depleted gas fields under Liverpool Bay.
Owned and operated by Essar Energy Transition Fuels (EET), a wholly-owned division of Essar Group, Stanlow recently completed a £100m refinery turnaround increasing throughput by approximately 8%.
It also commissioned the UK’s first hydrogen-ready refinery furnace following a £70.9m investment. There are also plans to supply road fuels to 800 new retail locations as well as being home to a new data centre.
Another Essar subsidiary, Stanlow Terminals, operates fuel and bulk liquids storage and logistics at shipping terminals at Stanlow and Tranmere oil terminal at Birkenhead, close to the Cammell Laird shipyard.
Tranmere handles around 150 supertankers each year. Crude oil is unloaded from the vessels and is pumped via an underground pipeline the eight miles to the Stanlow refinery where it is turned into multiple petroleum products. Around 500 smaller tankers call at Stanlow.
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Prashant Ruia, chairman of EET, said: “We are proud to mark 15 years since acquiring Stanlow. It remains a privilege to steward this critical asset, and we remain committed to its future.
“Our £4.3 billion investment pipeline represents a significant growth opportunity for the UK, supporting the country’s energy transition, generating massive long-term economic value, and creating thousands of highly skilled jobs built on the site’s proud industrial heritage.”