What Prax does

Prax Group is a privately held British multinational independent energy conglomerate dealing in crude oil, petroleum products, and biofuels. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in London (State Oil Limited, company number 04112423), the company historically operated a fully integrated value chain spanning upstream trading, midstream storage and terminals, refining via the Lindsey Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire, and downstream retail forecourts across the UK and Europe. Sub-brands include Harvest Energy (retail fuels), Harvest Marine (bunkering), Harvest Aviation (jet fuel), Axis (logistics), and Breeze (EV charging), supported by the Roots loyalty programme for retail customers. Operations spanned at least 10 countries including the UK, US, Singapore, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, South Africa, and Botswana.

The business model combines B2B enterprise trading of crude oil and refined products with direct-to-consumer fuel sales through owned forecourts, alongside a sustainability-oriented product line (HVO100 biofuel, regional Carbon Capture and Storage project, and EV charging infrastructure) targeting 65% greenhouse gas abatement and 20% carbon intensity reduction by 2030. Revenue mechanics are transaction-fee based across trading and retail, with quote-based B2B contracts for refining supply; pricing is not publicly disclosed.

As of mid-2025, the company entered a severe distress phase: Joint Administrators were appointed to State Oil Limited, Prax Treasury Limited, Prax Petroleum Limited, Harvest Energy Limited, and Harvest Energy Aviation Limited on 30 June 2025, followed by Axis Logistics Limited on 7 July 2025, with winding-up orders against the refinery, storage, and terminal subsidiaries. The mothballed Lindsey Refinery was sold to Phillips 66 on 6 February 2026. Prax states that UK and European Retail, Upstream, and international operations continue outside of formal insolvency proceedings.

Name

Prax

Legal name

State Oil Limited

Website

https://prax.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Prax is a privately held British multinational independent energy conglomerate dealing in crude oil, petroleum products, and biofuels, historically operating an integrated upstream-to-downstream value chain across 10+ countries. The company is currently in administration across multiple core UK entities following 2025 insolvency proceedings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Crude Oil and Petroleum Products Trading: Global trading of crude oil and petroleum products across international markets including UK, US, Singapore, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, South Africa and Botswana
2. Refining Operations: Operation of oil refineries including Lindsey Oil Refinery, processing crude oil into refined petroleum products
3. Retail Fuel Sales: Direct retail fuel sales through owned forecourts with loyalty programme membership

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Prax Group is a British multinational independent energy conglomerate that engages in crude oil importation, exploration, production, storage, distribution, and sale, integrated across the oil value chain from upstream to midstream and downstream. It operates the Lindsey Oil Refinery, runs global trading of crude oil and petroleum products across the UK, US, Singapore, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, South Africa and Botswana, sells retail fuels through owned forecourts under the Harvest Energy brand, supplies marine and aviation fuels, and offers low-carbon biofuels such as HVO100 alongside EV charging under the Breeze sub-brand.

Product overview

Prax Group is a British multinational independent energy conglomerate dealing in crude oil, petroleum products, and biofuels. The company operates across the complete oil value chain from upstream to midstream and downstream. The product portfolio centers on the Lindsey Oil Refinery for refining operations, with multiple sub-brands including Harvest Energy (retail fuels), Harvest Marine (bunkering), Harvest Aviation (jet fuel), Axis (logistics), and Breeze (EV charging). The company also offers low-carbon fuel solutions such as HVO100 biofuel, and maintains a loyalty programme for retail customers. Prax Foundation Roots represents the company's philanthropic initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Prax Foundation Roots: UK charitable foundation supporting initiatives including projects in Sri Lanka, encouraging staff to become involved with philanthropy through project suggestions, individual fundraising events, and sporting challenges.

Products and services

• Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery A major oil refinery located in North Killingholme, Lincolnshire, UK, processing crude oil into refined petroleum products as part of Prax Group's downstream operations. Sold to Phillips 66 in February 2026.
• Crude Oil and Petroleum Products Trading Global trading of crude oil and petroleum products across international markets including the UK, US, Singapore, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, South Africa and Botswana for commercial and industrial customers.
• Harvest Energy Retail Fuel Retail fuel brand under the Prax Group umbrella, offering fuels and related petroleum products sold through the company's owned forecourts in the UK and Europe to individual consumers.
• Harvest Marine Bunkering Marine fuel brand offering bunkering services and fuel solutions for maritime vessels, operating as part of Prax Group's downstream operations.
• Harvest Aviation Aviation fuel brand providing jet fuel and aviation petroleum products to commercial aviation customers.
• Axis Logistics Logistics and supply chain brand within Prax Group, operating logistics and distribution operations for the wider group's petroleum products.
• Breeze EV Charging Electric vehicle charging brand under Prax Group, representing EV fast-charging infrastructure installed at Prax-owned forecourts in line with UK government EV uptake ambitions.
• Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO100) Biofuel Low-carbon, sustainable biofuel produced through hydrotreatment, marketed as a bespoke low-carbon fuel option to reduce carbon intensity of transport fuels, used for biofuel blending and co-processing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65% abatement of greenhouse gas impact by 2030 (Scope 1 and Scope 2)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Women into Manufacturing and Engineering (WiME)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative initiative with schools and colleges across Northern Lincolnshire to promote career opportunities in the energy industry. Encourages uptake of STEM subjects and promotes gender diversity in operational roles. Current and former apprentices serve as advocates for the initiative.
• Prax Foundation RootscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK charitable foundation established by Prax founders in 2010 (evolved to Prax Foundation Roots in 2022), inspired by founders' Sri Lankan heritage with first projects based there. Prax Group is the major donor and supports employee fundraising and volunteering for charitable projects.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Trafigura: Independent commodity trader with oil trading, logistics, and downstream investments. Closely comparable to Prax's trading-plus-logistics structure, especially via the Axis logistics brand.
• Vitol: World's largest independent oil trader with downstream and trading activities across global markets. Comparable in business model to Prax's international crude and petroleum products trading footprint.
• Gunvor Group: Independent global commodity trader with significant oil refining and trading operations. Highly comparable to Prax's integrated trading and downstream model as a privately held independent energy merchant.
• Petroineos: European independent refiner and fuel marketer (joint venture between INEOS and PetroChina) operating refineries in France and trading/refining across Europe. Direct comparable for Prax's European refining and fuel marketing activities prior to the Lindsey sale.

Broad incumbents

• Phillips 66: Major US-headquartered integrated downstream and refining company that acquired Prax's Lindsey Refinery in February 2026. Comparable as a large-scale refiner and fuel marketer operating in the same downstream petroleum value chain.
• BP: Integrated oil major with UK refining, retail forecourts, EV charging (bp pulse), and biofuel/transition fuel operations. Highly comparable in geographic footprint and downstream segments, especially UK retail and EV charging.
• Shell: Integrated oil major with extensive downstream, trading, retail forecourt, marine, and aviation fuel operations globally. Overlaps with most of Prax's brand portfolio (Harvest Energy/Marine/Aviation, Breeze EV charging) but at much greater scale.
• Valero Energy: One of the world's largest independent petroleum refiners and fuel marketers with extensive wholesale and retail fuel operations. Comparable to Prax's refining-and-marketing orientation pre-divestiture.
• TotalEnergies: Integrated oil major with refining, trading, retail, biofuels, marine bunkering, and EV charging operations across Europe and globally. Comparable to Prax's diversified downstream portfolio and energy transition initiatives.

Emerging players

• Neste: Global leader in renewable diesel (HVO/HVO100), sustainable aviation fuel, and circular economy solutions. Closely comparable to Prax's HVO100 biofuel co-processing and energy transition positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PraxGroup

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Prax