The Collombey refinery operated as part of the Dutch-based holding company, Oilinvest (Netherlands) BV, which in turn is owned by Libyan state corporations. The refinery has suffered significant financial losses in the years leading up to its closure.
Efforts to sell the site included an ambitious plan by a local entrepreneur to build a sustainable Winter Olympics village. As none of these ideas came to fruition the area will now be converted into a business park.
Dismantling the site will take until 2025. Tamoil Switzerland director Stéphane Trachsler says that 95% of the facilities will be recycled.
The cost of this work has not been made public, but the company has provided a CHF10 million ($10.8 million) financial guarantee to the local authorities, according to Swiss public broadcaster RTS.
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Mass redundancies announced at Tamoil refinery
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Tamoil, which has its headquarters in the Netherlands, has set itself a deadline of March 31 to find a buyer. Staff representatives on Thursday expressed their determination to Tamoil management of getting a social plan “that will live up to their expectations”. Negotiations are set to begin on February 5. The firm had announced on…
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Libyan-owned Tamoil's has announced plans to suspend operations at its refinery in south-western Switzerland as a result of heavy financial losses.
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The Collombey refinery in canton Valais and the petrol stations are part of the Dutch-based Oilinvest group, which belongs to the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA). Although the LIA belongs to the Libyan state, and its purpose is to invest money for the good of the country as a whole – as a sovereign wealth fund…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.