{"id":125233,"title":"Lindsey Oil Refinery to Close After Collapse of Owner Prax Group – 625 Jobs Lost","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2025-07-26T12:04:16+00:00","modified":"2025-07-26T12:04:16+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/lindsey-oil-refinery-to-close-after-collapse-of-owner-prax-group-625-jobs-lost/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/lindsey-oil-refinery-to-close-after-collapse-of-owner-prax-group-625-jobs-lost.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/lindsey-oil-refinery-to-close-after-collapse-of-owner-prax-group-625-jobs-lost.json","category":"Blogs","categories":["Blogs","Energy"],"tags":["dividend","HMRC","Lindsey oil refinery","Prax Group","Sharon Graham","State Oil"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/dreamstime_l_2534017-scaled.webp?fit=1200%2C800&quality=80&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"The **Lindsey oil refinery** in Lincolnshire is set to shut down after efforts to secure a buyer failed, following the sudden collapse of its owner, **Prax Group**, and the disappearance of its millionaire owners, **Sanjeev and Arani Soosaipillai**.\n\nAround **625 workers** have been told that **redundancies are now inevitable**, as the **Official Receiver** begins winding down operations. The closure will also affect Prax’s parent company, **State Oil**, leaving local communities and regional fuel supply chains under strain.\n\nThe situation escalated last month when the refinery fell into administration with **£250 million owed to HMRC**. Officials have been unable to locate the Soosaipillais, who reportedly **paid themselves a £3.7 million dividend** the year before the collapse, despite the company posting **$30 million in losses**.\n\nEnergy Minister **Michael Shanks** condemned the owners, saying:\n\n> “We are deeply disappointed with the untenable position in which the owners left Prax Lindsey oil refinery,”and urged them to “do the decent thing” and support displaced workers financially.\n\n**Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham** called the refinery “**critical national infrastructure**” and demanded urgent government intervention to delay closure and secure a long-term future for the site.\n\nThe plant, which **supplied 10% of the UK’s fuel**, also provided jet fuel to Heathrow. While the airport is reportedly unaffected, **local fuel shortages** have hit forecourts in Lincolnshire.\n\nThe collapse follows broader pressures on UK refining, including the **shutdown of Grangemouth** in Scotland earlier this year due to high energy costs and uncertainty around North Sea oil policies.\n\n**Energy Secretary Ed Miliband** has called for a **full investigation** into Prax’s collapse and the conduct of its directors."}