THE owners of the Stanlow oil refinery in Ellesmere Port have admitted the past 12 months have been "very difficult" but are optimistic of the firm's future.

Reports nationally in recent days have painted a picture of woe for Essar, with several executives and advisers reportedly resigning from the company.

There has also been speculation of the company's declining financial position caused by the coronavirus crisis and the subsequent economic slowdown.

But Essar have now responded to the speculation, saying it is now experiencing "increased demand" and it remains "confident" in can "come out stronger" following the Covid crisis.

A spokesperson said: "Historically, Essar Oil UK has been a very profitable business that has attracted over $1 billion in investment since its acquisition in 2011. It is a long-standing private company without public shareholders.

"The global Covid pandemic has affected all refiners, with repeated lockdowns leading to reduced product demand and depressed refining margins.

"We have successfully traded through a very difficult 12 months and are now seeing increased demand for road transport fuels and improving refining margins, which has resulted in increased throughput at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex.

"We are not a levered business and currently we do not have any short-term or long-term bank debt on the company, other than working capital lines.

"Prior to coronavirus, we were generating EBITDA [Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation] in excess of $300 million per year.

"We remain confident that we can manage through this period and come out stronger as the economy clearly continues to recover.

"We are fully focused on supporting our customers and industries who rely on our products as lockdown restrictions are eased and we are excited about our plans to decarbonise Stanlow and increase our supply of sustainable fuels, thereby supporting the UK's green agenda."

Essar Oil UK bought the Stanlow Oil Refinery from Shell 10 years ago, and is planning a series of improvements at the site.

One is a plan to turn waste from the oil refinery into low carbon aviation fuel by creating a bio-refinery, in a £600 million investment.

And last month we revealed a £72 million plan to create thousands of new jobs through the HyNet North West hydrogen and carbon capture storage project. Construction work is now under way on the site, which is located near to Stanlow and owned by Essar.