Norsk Hydro and the Swedish company Preem Petroleum today signed a memorandum of understanding to merge Scanraff and Scancracker in Lysekil in Sweden. The purpose of the merger is to increase the operating efficiency and simplify future investments at the oil refinery in Lysekil, Sweden. Hydro and Preem own the refinery through two companies - Scanraff and Scancracker. Preem has a 78.5% share in Scanraff and a 50% share in Scancracker, whereas Hydro has a 21.5% share in Scanraff and a 50% share in Scancracker. After the merger Preem will own 75% and Hydro 25% of the new company.
Scanraff was built in 1975 and is one of the largest refineries in Europe. The refinery's capacity is 10 million tonnes of crude oil per year.