20 JANUARY 2012

PETROPLUS Petit Couronne Refinery located in Seine -Maritime north-west France, a subsidiary of Petroplus Holdings AG, is to be sold, following the Group's announcement last December  that « approximately $1 billion in uncommitted lines » under the Group's Revolving Credit Facility « have been frozen by the lenders under that facility« , according to a communiqué.

The Petite Couronne refinery 550 staff call for help to save jobs took the form of letters sent to TOTAL for a possible buy-back according to unions. In December, the Group's representatives had contacted the Ministry of Industry about its « difficulties with lenders » according to the ministry's communication, a call which resulted in the Credit Mediation body to join « complex negotiations » with Petroplus AG debtors. The Group‘s banking consortium is composed of about 15 international banks, three of which are French, and the government's direct intervention into the Swiss Group's affairs stands limited.
     
Petroplus Holding AG, the largest independent refiner and wholesaler of petroleum products in Europe  has a combined throughput capacity of approximately 667 000 barrels per day. The Group operates five refineries spread between Coryton in the United Kingdom, in Antwerp, Belgium, in Ingolstadt, Germany and in Cressier, Switzerland.