View source for Teesside Refinery

{{Short description|Oil refinery and chemical plant in River Tees, County Durham}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox oil refinery
| name           = Teesside Refinery
| image          = Greatham Tank Farm - geograph.org.uk - 1376885.jpg
| image alt      = <!-- See WP:Alternative text for images -->
| caption        = Tank Farm at Greatham
| location_map       = County Durham
| location_map_width = 
| location_map_text  = 
| coordinates    = {{coord|54.6338|-1.2189|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref    = 
| country        = [[England]], [[United Kingdom]]
| province       = [[County Durham]]
| city           = [[Seaton Carew]], [[Borough of Hartlepool|Hartlepool]]
| operator       = 
| owner          = Petroplus
| founded        = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY}} -->
| closure        = {{End date|2009}}
| capacity       =
| capacity bbl/d =
| employees      = 
| ref units      = 
| oil tank       = 
| oil refining center = 
}}
The '''Teesside Refinery''' was an [[oil refinery]] and [[chemical plant]] situated just south of [[Seaton Carew]] on the [[River Tees]] in [[County Durham]]. In 2000, it was bought by [[Petroplus]] from [[Imperial Chemical Industries|ICI]] and [[Phillips Petroleum Company]]. Refining was suspended in 2009, although the site continues to operate as a terminal and storage facility.

==History==
In the period 1965-1968, three oil refineries were developed close to [[Teesport]] on the River Tees, thanks to the [[Phillips Petroleum]]'s development of the [[Ekofisk oil field]] in the [[North Sea]].<ref name=20CArch/> The first two were jointly developed and operated by Phillips and ICI on the north shore of the River Tees, just south of Greatham Creek. After processing this facility fed [[cyclohexane]], [[benzene]], [[toluene]] and [[xylene]] to ICI's chemical plants at [[Billingham Manufacturing Plant|Billingham]] and [[Wilton International|Wilton]].<ref name=20CArch/> The third refinery was developed in 1968 by [[Shell Oil]] on the south shore within Teesport.<ref name=20CArch>{{cite book|title=20th Century Industrial Archaeology|author=Stratton Michael, Barrie Stuart Trinder|publisher=Taylor & Francis|date=10 Aug 2000|isbn=0419246800}}</ref>

In 1980, with the discovery of [[North Sea gas]], a {{convert|220|mi}} [[Pipeline transport|pipeline]] was installed between Ekofisk and [[Seal Sands]] on the north shore.<ref name=20CArch/> Although the Shell refinery was mothballed in 1989 and later closed,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fueloilnews.co.uk/2012/12/good-times-for-public-storage/#|title=Good times for public storage|publisher=Fuel Oil News|access-date=25 March 2013}}</ref> as a result of the pipeline petrochemicals traffic still today represents about 50% of the cargo through Teesport, around 26 million tonnes a year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.central-systems.co.uk/case-studies/pd-teesport-terminal-operating-system.html|title=Teesport|publisher=Autostore|access-date=25 March 2013}}</ref>

==Operations==
Today the Teesside Refinery is a crude oil reception, storage and trans-shipment installation.  Operations consist of both processing and tanker loading facilities and cover a {{convert|307|acre}} site. Stabilised oil is stored in a {{convert|375|acre}} [[Oil depot|tank farm]] at [[Greatham, County Durham|Greatham]]. A {{convert|2|mi}} corridor containing pipelines, communications and utility services links the two sites, operated jointly by 270 employees.

In its 35 years of operations, the terminal has processed over five billion [[Barrel (unit)|barrels]] of oil, seen 15,000 ships visit their jetties and had a first-class safety record. The plant has also been run with a [[downtime]] of less than 24 hours in 30 years.

On site there is a [[Cafeteria|canteen]], an active sports and social club and People SPIRIT team who organise a variety of activities. When owned by [[ConocoPhillips]] they continually funded technical [[apprenticeship]] schemes in the area, and were directly involved in local primary and secondary school [[education]]. Initiatives ranged from donating [[computer]]s and funding school exchange programmes, to providing engineers for maths and science days.

===Accreditation===
The Teesside terminal is certified to [[ISO 14001]], the international environmental management system standard, which it has held continuously since October 1998.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} The site is on the fringe of the [[estuary]] [[mudflat]]s of [[Seal Sands]], an area of considerable conservation interest and home to [[wildfowl]] and [[Pinniped|seal]] colonies.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

===Awards===
The terminal has received numerous Gold Medals and President’s awards from the [[Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents]] (RoSPA) over the years.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} These awards are in recognition of the site’s [[Occupational safety and health|occupational safety]] achievements acknowledging successful management of occupational health and accident prevention.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

==Refining suspended==
On 9 November 2009, [[The Engineer (UK magazine)|The Engineer]] reported that refining was to be suspended at the Teesside refinery. Petroplus CEO Jean-Paul Vettier was quoted as saying: "Given the current unfavorable market environment and capital expenditures required to maintain refinery operations at Teesside, we have decided to suspend refinery operations. The site will continue to operate as a terminal and storage facility."<ref>[https://archive.today/20120911231251/http://www.theengineer.co.uk/channels/process-engineering/teesside-refinery-to-suspend-operations/313874.article The Engineer, 9 November 2009]</ref>

On 24 January 2012 it was announced that [[Petroplus]] would file for [[insolvency]], which led to the closure of [[Coryton Refinery]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16702584 BBC: Coryton refinery job fears after Petroplus go bankrupt]</ref> Teesside closed shortly afterwards and was bought by [[Greenergy]] in July 2012, reopening as a diesel, gasoil and kerosene supply depot in November 2012.<ref>[http://greenergy.com/News/index.html Greenergy North Tees terminal update: commencement of diesel, gasoil and kerosene supply] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727104728/http://greenergy.com/News/index.html |date=2014-07-27 }}</ref><ref>[http://greenergy.com/News/index.html Greenergy purchases terminal assets at Teesside] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727104728/http://greenergy.com/News/index.html |date=2014-07-27 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Oil refinery]]
* [[Petroleum]]
* [[List of oil refineries]]

==References==
<references/>

{{Oil storage and distribution in the United Kingdom}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:ConocoPhillips]]
[[Category:Oil refineries in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:River Tees]]