Europe's largest independent refiner Petroplus announced in early January the immediate temporary 'economic' shutdown of three (Petit Couronne, Antwerp and Cressier) of its five refineries after the syndicate bankers who underwrote its revolving credit facility (RCF) declined to continue lending to the loss-making refiner, according to KBC. The market analyst commented: 'Petroplus has struggled throughout the global downturn as surplus capacity, slack demand and expensive Brent-linked crude oil have dampened European refining margins. The company has lost money every year since the downturn began in mid-2008, and 2011 was especially disappointing as weak refining margins more than countered a corporate cost-cutting effort that actually saw significant improvements in operating expenses, energy cost reduction and asset reliability.'
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