Kynochtown

Coryton Refinery

Location of Coryton Refinery in Essex
Country	England, United Kingdom
City	Thurrock, Essex
Coordinates	51°30′47″N 0°31′16″E / 51.513°N 0.521°E / 51.513; 0.521Coordinates: 51°30′47″N 0°31′16″E / 51.513°N 0.521°E / 51.513; 0.521
Refinery details
Owner(s)	Petroplus
Commissioned	1953 (1953)
Decommissioned	2012 (2012)

Coryton Refinery was an oil refinery in Essex, England, on the estuary of the River Thames some 28 miles (45 km) from the centre of London, between Shell Haven Creek and Hole Haven Creek, which separates Canvey Island from the mainland.

It was a part of the Port of London and was the last of the three major refineries on the Thames Estuary to remain in operation. Output was delivered by road, sea and rail, and it was linked to Stanlow Refinery in North West England by the UK Oil Pipeline (UKOP). There is a 753 MW gas-fired power station, opened in 2002 and run by Coryton Energy Co Ltd, part of Intergen.

In January 2012 Petroplus filed for bankruptcy. Coryton Refinery ceased production in June 2012. The site will be turned into an industrial hub to be called Thames Enterprise Park.

In 1895 the ammunition firm Kynochs built an explosives factory at the site. This opened in 1897, with an estate for employees called Kynochtown. Products included cordite, guncotton, gunpowder, and cartridges. Kynochs also built the Corringham Light Railway (CLR), with a passenger branch from the works to Corringham and a goods branch to the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway at Thames Haven. The Kynoch works closed in 1919.

The site and CLR were taken over by coal merchants Cory Brothers Ltd of Cardiff to build an oil storage depot, with Kynochtown renamed Coryton. Sources differ as to whether Corys, who sold a well-known brand of petrol, Corys' Motor Spirit, also built a refinery at the site.