The Government has been called on to investigate the possibility of intervening in the proposed sale of the country’s only oil refinery at Whitegate, Cork.

A significant rise in imports — particularly of animal feed products — drove a 2% increase in container traffic at Port of Cork, last year, with throughput levels reaching a four-year high.

Today marks the first day of operations of Phillips 66 oil refinery and storage facilities in Ireland.

THE Port of Cork Company has labelled its 2010 performance “reasonable”, after returning to profit and recording a solid increase in both turnover and traffic.

THE Russian government honoured an Irish World War II hero yesterday for saving thousands of lives through his brave service on the treacherous wartime Arctic convoys.

A FORMER technician at the Whitegate Oil Refinery has lost his claim that he was unfairly sacked for watching TV during a critical phase of the refinery’s operations.

GOLDMAN SACHS and Dublin-based Ion Equity are believed to have joined forces to buy Whitegate Oil Refinery, which was put on sale in January by US-based ConocoPhilips.

THE Port of Cork recorded a €5 million pre-tax profit last year as cargo traffic reached record levels.

The Minister for Public Enterprise Mary O’Rourke is confirming that the sale of the Whitegate Oil Refinery and the Whiddy Island storage facility in Bantry Bay is "almost complete".

Cheaper fuel prices could be on the way with the proposed sale of the Whitegate Oil Refinery in Cork Harbour.