Puma Energy has bought the Milford Haven oil refinery in Wales and other UK assets of Murphy Oil Corporation, it said yesterday, with plans to turn the Welsh site into a storage terminal.

Puma Energy, which is part-owned by Swiss-based commodity trading giant Trafigura and Angola's national oil company, said it would buy the Milford Haven facility and the wholesale energy sales business and three inland terminals owned by Murphy's UK subsidiary, Murco.

A deal to keep Milford Haven operating as an oil refinery collapsed in November, putting 450 jobs at risk. Puma said it would welcome "all the terminal and distribution employees".

"The company will acquire the assets and convert the site into a state-of-the-art storage facility," it said.-Reuters