Essar Oil UK back in black

After posting a $121 million loss in the previous fiscal, Essar Oil UK on Friday reported going back in the black during the year ended March with a $70 million net profit resulting from its highest-ever refining margins.

Essar Oil UK's Stanlow refinery made $7.80 on processing every barrel of crude oil in 2014-15, as against achieving a $4.08 per barrel gross refining margin in the previous fiscal.

This was primarily "due to refinery reconfiguration and improved benchmark margins. Stanlow has outperformed the Northwest European FCC Cracking margin of Dated Brent for the year, which stood at $2.66 per barrel", the company said in a statement here.

"During the year, Stanlow Refinery, located in Ellesmere Port and meeting about 15 percent of UK's transport fuel demand, processed 8.54 million tonnes of crude, an 18 percent increase from the previous year's 7.24 million tonnes", it said.

Gross revenues for Essar Oil UK, an unlisted subsidiary of Essar Energy, dropped 11 percent to $7.6 billion compared to $8.5 billion in 2013-14, mainly due to a fall in global crude oil prices.

Essar Oil UK chairman Naresh Nayyar said: "This was a significantly better year for us. The impact of several initiatives taken in recent years is now being reflected in the operational and financial performance of the company."

"We also take pride in saying that the company delivered 100 percent product availability to our customers throughout the period, significantly contributing to energy supply security in the region," he added.