The Esso Refinery at Milford Haven was an oil refinery situated on the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. Construction started in 1957 and the refinery was opened in 1960 by the Duke of Edinburgh.[1] Construction cost £18 million and the refinery had the initial capacity to process 4.5 million tons of crude oil a year.[1]
Background
As originally conceived the refinery worked in conjunction with Esso's older, larger refinery at Fawley on Southampton Water. Milford Haven refinery supplied the west coast and Fawley the rest of the country.[2] Milford Haven also supplemented Fawley's fuel oil deliveries to the London area. The refinery shipped semi-refined heavy gas oil to Fawley for further refining. There were also shipments to Ireland and northern Europe. Most of the refinery's crude came from the Persian Gulf shipped in tankers such as the Esso Scotia of 249,952 deadweight tons.[2]