The owners of Stanlow Oil Refinery have spoken out following reports over the huge site's "deteriorating finances".
Essar Oil 海角视频 has said it successfully traded through a "very difficult" pandemic year - and that it does not have "any short term or long term bank debt" other than working capital lines.
It comes after a from Sky News on Friday said there were fears for the future of the Ellesmere Port site, where around 900 people are employed, with thousands more jobs dependent on its supply chains.
The report added that meetings are to take place this week with the Government in a bid to stabilise the plant's finances.
Situated on the south bank of the Manchester ship canal, the Stanlow site was bought from Shell in 2011. It buys crude oil and processes it into vital fuels, playing a key part in the 海角视频 economy by producing over 16% of transport fuels.
That equates to over 4.4bn litres of diesel, 3bn litres of petrol and 2bn litres of jet fuels.
The oil firm has responded to the report, which said that like many similar organisations across the world, the coronavirus crisis had hit margins and demand at the site.
A spokesman said: "Historically, Essar Oil 海角视频 has been a very profitable business that has attracted over $1 billion in investment since its acquisition in 2011. It is a long standing private company without public shareholders.
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"The global Covid pandemic has affected all refiners, with repeated lockdowns leading to reduced product demand and depressed refining margins.
"We have successfully traded through a very difficult 12 months and are now seeing increased demand for road transport fuels and improving refining margins, which has resulted in increased throughput at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex.
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"We are not a levered business and currently we do not have any short term or long term bank debt on the company, other than working capital lines. Prior to Coronavirus, we were generating EBITDA in excess of $300 million per year. We remain confident that we can manage through this period and come out stronger as the economy clearly continues to recover.
"We are fully focused on supporting the customers and industries who rely on our products as lockdown restrictions are eased and we are excited about our plans to decarbonise Stanlow and increase our supply of sustainable fuels, thereby supporting the 海角视频’s green agenda."
A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We do not comment on individual companies.
“The Government has put in place a far reaching package of support to help businesses across the economy during the pandemic, including the furlough scheme, loans and VAT deferrals.
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“The Government continually monitors fuel supply across the country to ensure the public do not see any disruption.”
Last month, the refinery was given the lowest possible environmental compliance rating - but bosses said moves had been made to resolve the issues.
The Stanlow refinery complex operated by Essar was given the 'F' rating by the Environment Agency, meaning it posed an "unacceptable risk to human health, quality of life or the environment".
And £750m plans were revealed earlier this year to build the 海角视频's first low carbon hydrogen production hub at the site.
Elsewhere in Ellesmere Port, a decision is also awaited over the future of the nearby Vauxhall plant - over whether to invest in a new version of the Astra, build a different model at the site, or shut it down altogether.