Phillips 66 in final stages of selling Ireland's only oil refinery - sources

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. energy group Phillips 66 (PSX.N) is in the final stages of selling the only oil refinery in Ireland, a source familiar with negotiations said on Saturday.

Phillips 66 did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the 71,000 barrel per day refinery which is in Cork in southern Ireland.

Responding to a report on the Irish Examiner website, which said an agreement to sell the Whitegate refinery would be reached within the coming weeks, the source said a deal was "in the offing".

The Examiner said ArcLight Capital, Irving Oil, UK-based PTFPlusOne and Valero Energy (VLO.N) were in the running, and that family-owned Canadian company Irving Oil was the frontrunner.

Valero, Irving Oil and ArcLight Capital did not respond to immediate request for comment while PTFPlusOne could not be reached for comment.

Phillips 66 has made repeated attempts to sell the refinery since it first put it up for sale in 2013, but poor refining margins and the limited strategic appeal of the plant have meant there has been scant interest.

It was unclear whether the potential buyers intended to keep the plant open or close it and use it for storage only.

Phillips 66 employs 157 staff and around 150 contractors at Whitegate, according to the U.S. company's website.

A wave of refineries across Europe shut their gates and were turned into storage facilities earlier in the decade, but lower futures prices have helped to prevent further closures in the last two years.

(Reporting by Simon Falush, writing by Andy Bruce; Editing by Kevin Liffey/Keith Weir)