The Beginning

The early part of the 20th Century saw the fuel industry change dramatically. Coal, which had been the main source of power for industry and transport was gradually being replaced by new fuels .

The major reason for this was the introduction of the combustion engine, which was used to power lorries, buses and cars. Original engine designs used bio-fuels but the advent of cheaper oil based fuels soon saw the engines modified to use this new fuel. The demand for these fuels increased rapidly and during WWII there was an even greater demand.

Following the end of the war, the increasing demand for oil led the UK oil companies to look at ways of expanding their refining capacities in order to meet the supply.

The first talks of the oil industries interest in Milford Haven began in the late 1940's, when British Petroleum (BP) needed to rebuild the jetties at their refinery near Llandarcy. After consultation it was found that the waterway serving the refinery was not deep enough to accommodate the larger oil tankers that were coming into service. The cost of dredging the waterway was costly so BP was forced to look at other possible solutions.

It was agreed that the best solution would be to build jetties at Angle Bay and then lay a pipeline to the refinery at Llandarcy. However, plans were thrown mainly due to the need to lay a sixty mile pipeline from the jetties all the way to Llandarcy.

In the meantime, Esso was also looking to expand its refining capacity. Its existing refinery at Fawley, near Southampton was considered for expansion, but it was decided that this would have been limited, so the best option was to build a second oil refinery somewhere in the UK.

The port of Milford Haven was chosen as the preferred site as it had a deep waterway to allow access for even the largest oil tankers and the local government were co-operative as they welcomed the creation of jobs.

The necessary approvals were giving to the project and the construction of the refinery near Herbrandston began in 1957. The jetty that was built extended out from the site into the deep water at the centre of the Milford Haven Waterway.

In the same year, BP again looked at the possibility of building jetties at Angle Bay and then pumping the oil up to its Llandarcy refinery. On 31st July 1957 an Act of Parliament was passed and Popton Fort and the surrounding area was purchased. Shortly after work began on constructing a jetty with two berthing heads and pipes running to a nearby tank farm at Kilpaison and from there the oil was pumped through sixty-two miles of pipe to the Llandarcy Refinery.

In 1960 the Esso Oil Refinery at Herbranston was completed and it was opened by H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. The refinery was initially built to handle 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day. On the 8th July 1960, the Esso Portsmouth was the first tanker to berth at the jetty. The following day there was a fire on the tanker, but it was soon extinguished.

On 20th April 1961 BP's oil terminal at Popton Fort was opened by Mr Richard Wood MP, who was the Minister of Power.

The opening of these two sites was the beginning of a long presence of the oil industry within the County.