OIL giant Chevron is looking for a buyer for a West Wales refinery that employs 1,400 people.

The American company said it would "solicit bids" for some of its European operations, including the refinery at Pembroke.

A spokeswoman said "all options" were being kept open and no decisions had been made to sell assets.

About 600 staff and 800 contractors work at the site, which is capable of processing 220,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

Ministers at the Welsh Assembly Government said they would offer what help they could to ensure the refinery had a future when Chevron announced a worldwide review of its business in January.

In a statement, the company said: "Chevron has announced its intention to solicit bids for some of its operations in Europe as part of the company's global downstream restructuring.

"This includes our Pembroke refinery, as well as fuels marketing, aviation and lubricants operations in Europe."

It added: "To confirm, this process is to determine interest in our operations in Europe.

"No decision has been made to sell any asset at this time.

"We have no plans to idle any of our refineries. Our continuing focus is on operating Pembroke refinery in a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible manner."