Continental Refining Co. to resume operations in 2012

Production is set to resume this year at Continental Refining Co., located in Somerset in Kentucky, US.

The oil refinery had been largely offline in recent years due to a management dispute and bankruptcy.

The new management acquired the refinery in December 2011. Equipment at the plant was in good shape; however, the flare system had to be replaced.

The company intends to process gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene and other products at the plant by autumn this year.

A deal with Sunoco has been inked to supply crude oil to the plant and the new management is also in negotiations with regional suppliers.

The refinery can process 5,500 barrels of oil a day and the capacity could be doubled over the coming years.

The owner is investing as much as $10m in projects at the facility in the first two years of operations, reports kentucky.com.

Operations at the refinery first began in the 1930s. The plant ran into financial trouble in 2006 and the owners sold the plant to William Spears, who filed for bankruptcy in 2007.

The refinery was then acquired by Michael Grunberg in 2008 during an auction for $2.4m; the refinery resumed production but insufficient supply of crude oil forced it to shut down.