Petroplus Eyes Total’s Lindsey Refinery

Refiner Petroplus is seeking to purchase Total’s Lindsey oil refinery in the UK through bids, anticipating a recovery in fuel demand.

Petroplus CEO Jean-Paul Vettier was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that it is now waiting for the seller to react.

Total plans to sell its 221,000-barrel-a-day Lindsey plant as part of its plan to reduce refining capacity by about a fifth to bring down costs.

Profits in refining have fallen in 2009 due to eroded demand that has led refiners to idle plants and postponements in expansion projects.