Petroplus, banks in talks to continue operations

ZURICH: European oil refiner Petroplus said it had open and constructive discussions with its lenders and that talks would continue in the coming days as it seeks to restore its credit facilities and keep its operations going.

The debt-laden group also said in a statement on Friday it was starting temporary shutdowns of three of its refineries in January - Petit Couronne in France, Antwerp in Belgium and Cressier in Switzerland.

This was due to the limited credit it has available and the economic climate in Europe, Petroplus said. The meetings with the lenders took place on Thursday in Zurich, Petroplus said.

Petroplus's future was thrown into doubt after it said on Tuesday lenders had frozen a $1 billion credit facility the company relies on to buy crude oil.

Copyright Reuters, 2011