Lindsey Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire is to close after the government said no buyer has come come forward.
It is the second refinery to shut this year following the closure of Grangemouth, and will see the loss of a similar number of employees, 420.
Prax Group, which is led by chairman and chief executive Sanjeev Kumar Soosaipillai, bought the Lindsey refinery from French company Total in 2021.
The Official Receiver took over the Lindsey Oil Refinery in North East Lincolnshire last month after its owner Prax went into administration.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said “no credible offers have been made to purchase the entire refinery and it will be winding down operations”.
Mr Shanks was a victim of abuse from those who accused him of making a greater effort to save Lindsey while not doing the same for Grangemouth.
False claims were made that Lindsey was being taken into state ownership and it became a focus of attention from independence supporters who claimed it was an example of English businesses getting preferential treatment to those north of the border. Its imminent closure would indicate this is not the case.
More likely is that the refineries are victims of the net zero strategy which has seen a decline in demand for oil.
In a statement, Mr Shanks said: “We are deeply disappointed with the untenable position in which the owners left Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery.
“Our sympathies are with the workers, their families and the local community.
“While we continue to strongly encourage the owners to do the decent thing and publicly commit to making a voluntary financial contribution to support workers, all those directly employed at the refinery are guaranteed jobs over the coming months.
“The government will immediately fund a comprehensive Training Guarantee for these refinery workers to ensure they have the skills they need and are supported to find jobs in the growing clean energy workforce.”
He added that the Official Receiver “continues to pursue interest in individual assets”.
Local Conservative MP Martin Vickers described the closure as “very bad news” for the area and called for the government to support the plant for longer “while more possible offers came in”.
“Of course, it’s not the government’s fault that it’s got into difficulties, ” he said. “But I would have hoped they would recognise the importance of a piece of the national infrastructure.”
The Unite union has warned that the real number of jobs at risk amounts to about 1,000 when taking into account contractors and the supply chain.
The Department for Energy Security said the Prax Group documents indicated the plant had posted losses of about £75m between the takeover in 2021 and February 2024.
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