Coryton refinery restarts fuel deliveries

Petrol and fuel began flowing out of the bust Coryton oil refinery in Essex today, following three days of shutdown after the appointment of administrators.

Tankers rolled out of the refinery gates for the first time since Coryton was placed in administration after its Swiss parent filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday with debts of $1.7 billion (£1.08 billion).

Administrators from PwC said they had concluded negotiations overnight which meant they were able to restart deliveries of refined oil products this morning. Their next immediate priority is to secure supplies of crude oil flowing into the refinery once again. This is likely to be more difficult since companies supplying crude will want guarantees that they will be paid.

Steven Pearson, joint adminstrator, said Coryton still had "significant stocks of crude and will be shipping refined products according to the demand."

He added: "I am pleased that we are able to resume fuel supplies in the region. The team has worked collaboratively with customers to get to this stage so quickly."

Coryton supplies one in every five litres of petrol sold in London and the South East.