Private refinery planned for northeast England

LONDON (Reuters) - SONHOE Development Company is planning to build a two-billion pound refinery at Teesside in northeast England, the firm said on Wednesday.

No new oil refineries have been built in the country for decades due to environmental opposition and low refining profits.

The plant will process 200,000 barrels a day of heavy crude oil into low-sulphur diesel, petrochemical feedstock naphtha and kerosene for use in the UK and export, the company said in a statement.

The project, which needs to gain the approval of local authorities, would also include a hydrogen production unit.

The company, which is owned by three individuals, is looking for finance for the project which will be built on an industrial site that used to be occupied by ICI's chemical works, said Technical Director Howard Simons.

"We are in the process of getting major investors on board," Simons told Reuters.

He added he hoped the refinery would be completed by around 2013.

The refinery will be designed to process heavy oil from the North Sea and elsewhere which has levels of acidity or sulphur too high to be treated in older plants, he said.

Simons said he was confident the project would receive planning permission as it met the latest UK and EU standards and also had local political support as it would help regenerate a run-down area.