London Thamesport

London Thamesport is a container seaport on the River Medway, serving the North Sea. It is located on the Isle of Grain, in the Medway unitary authority district of the English county of Kent. The area was formerly called Port Victoria.

History

Kent Oil Refinery

In 1953, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (later British Petroleum) developed a large oil refinery, Kent Oil Refinery, in the south of the Isle of Grain. A fuel depot with an attached port had existed there since 1928. From 1953, over ten million tons of crude oil were processed annually on the 4 km² (1.5 sq mi) site. This led to the establishment of the oil-fired power station at Grain and dual-fuel capable Kingsnorth. In practice, Kingsnorth uses coal. The refinery was closed on 27 August 1982, and work was transferred to other BP locations. The plant was taken over by British Gas plc (at that time still state owned), which used a small part of the site for the storage of liquefied natural gas. Three-quarters of the site remained unused.