UK's Coryton Oil Storage Project Put on Ice

The development of a new oil product storage facility on the site of the shuttered Coryton refinery in eastern England has been paused with no new timetable provided, the site's operator said on Thursday.

The Thames Oilport project, a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell (RYDAF), Greenergy and Vopak aimed at storing mostly diesel and gasoline, was originally planned to open at the end of 2013, but there have been repeated delays due to technical problems.

The plans now appear to have been put on ice as the partners assess the costs of the conversion of the refinery, which was closed down in 2012 following the bankruptcy of its Swiss-based owner Petroplus.

"Following further analysis of the condition of the existing refinery infrastructure, a decision has been taken to pause the current design works while a revised configuration and footprint is agreed," a spokesman for the project said in a statement.

"The timetable for Thames Oilport remains under review as the three JV partners work together to consider the best configuration and footprint."

According to sources involved in the project, located some 45 kilometres (30 miles) east of London, the costs of the site's conversion have risen over the past year.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Mark Potter)