LyondellBasell has ended talks to sell its Berre refinery near Marseilles, France, saying the bid failed to offer acceptable commercial terms and showed no guarantee of a restart.

French economy minister Arnaud Montebourg announced last month that privately owned oil products trading company Sotragem had made an offer to buy the refinery, a deal that would have run counter to the trend that European refineries are closing due to overcapacity.

In January 2012, LyondellBasell mothballed the 105,000 barrel-a-day refinery after having failed to find a buyer since putting it up for sale in May 2011.

Montebourg also sought in vain to save another refinery, the Petit-Couronne plant in northern France, which was closed last year.