1931-1939
Deurag (Deutsche Erdölraffinerie) was founded in 1931 by the Elwerath trade union and the company Preußische Bergwerks- und Hütten AG (Preussag). It primarily processed crude oil extracted in the Celle-Peine area. The increasing extraction of this raw material led to the founding of another company in 1935, the "Neue Erdölraffinerie" (Neurag). The two refineries covered more than a third of Germany's motor oil requirements.
1940-1945
Air raids
As an industry vital to the war effort for aircraft engine oils, the refinery site was the target of numerous air raids and bombings during the Second World War – between May 1940 and the end of the war in 1945, Allied aircraft flew to Hanover-Misburg 14 times. The plant was repeatedly destroyed and repaired. Prisoners of war and inmates from the Neuengamme concentration camp were also forced to work on the repairs. Today, a bronze plaque on the camp grounds commemorates this history.
1955–1968
A new company
In 1955, the refineries were merged under joint management to form the Deurag-Nerag oil refinery union. In 1960, the site south of the branch canal was developed. A new bridge connected the two parts of the refinery.
1969–1980
New owners
In 1969, Esso and Shell each acquired half of the shares and continued to produce regular and premium gasoline, diesel fuel, heating and motor oils, liquefied petroleum gas, petroleum coke, bitumen, and paraffins at the site. New carbon black found its way into the production facility as a component of car tires and printer's ink. In 1971, the refinery reached its highest throughput of 2.7 million tons.
1983–1986
Final phase
Over the years, the oil fields became depleted. By 1985, 45 percent of crude oil processing in the entire Federal Republic had been shut down. Deurag-Nerag was also affected. On March 23, 1986, Deurag-Nerag finally ceased production.
1987-present
New paths
To this day, a tank farm in the southwest of the Deurag-Nerag site on Kreisstraße 33 is used for crude oil extracted from the East Hanover area and its transport to other refineries. In 2001, Deurag-Nerag-Straße in Misburg was named after the refinery. In the years that followed, discussions were held about how to reuse the site. However, it remained unclear to what extent the site had been contaminated by the bombing and its long period of operation. Now there is new momentum in the matter: the city of Hanover and Deurag-Nerag – represented by ExxonMobil – plan to work together to determine whether the site can be remediated.
