Equinor has entered into an agreement with the Klesch Group for the sale of its refining business in Denmark, according to the company's release.
The agreement covers the Equinor Refining Denmark A/S (ERD) company consisting of the Kalundborg refinery and terminal in the northwest of Zealand, the Hedehusene terminal near Copenhagen as well as associated infrastructure and industrial property.
Upon completion of the transaction, including approval by Danish authorities, all ERD employees will be transferred to the Klesch Group with equitable employment terms as within Equinor.
The Klesch Group has been in refining for over 10 years and is well positioned to take the business further. In a statement, A. Gary Klesch, the Chairman of the Klesch Group, says:
The Kalundborg refinery was built in 1961 and was acquired by Equinor in 1986 before significantly increasing capacity in 1995. The plant can process 107,000 barrels a day of crude oil and condensate for gasoline, diesel, propane and heating oil. Annual production capacity is up to 5.5 million tonnes of oil products.
Completion will, among other things, be dependent on approval by the Danish authorities. Further commercial details on the transaction will not be disclosed.
The two refineries, Kalundborg and Mongstad, are independent and separate enterprises, with separate markets and largely their own competence bases. Equinor will continue to develop the refinery business at Mongstad. Mongstad is tightly integrated into Equinor’s oil and gas value chain and plays a significant role in the development of new value chains, such as hydrogen, biofuel and ammonia.
This transaction does not affect Equinor's ownership and/or operation of Danske Commodities, headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark.
Klesch Group
The Klesch Group is an international industrial commodities group founded in 1990. The company is involved in the production and trading of oil and metals, as well as other global commodities and related financial derivatives. The group currently employs 650 professionals across seven locations in five countries.