NETHERLANDS - The new €670m Dutch pension fund of energy company BP has selected Syntrus Achmea as its provider.

The Stichting Pensioenfonds BP is the result of the merger of the scheme of BP Refinery in Rotterdam with the pension plan BP Netherlands on 1 January.

Syntrus Achmea has been handling pension administration at the refinery scheme since 2006, while BP Netherlands had contracted out its administration to Blue Sky Group.

Harm Jan Lindaart, manager of the new BP scheme, said: "Because of the merger, we had to select one provider. And as BP Refinery already had a good experience with Syntrus, the combination with a beneficial price-quality ratio led us pick the company."

Following the merger, the number of BP participants with Syntrus Achmea has tripled to 4,200, according to the provider, which looks after the pensions of 3.6m Dutch workers and pensioners.

Officials at BP explained that the merger decision had been taken to increase efficiency and reap the benefits of scale.

Lindaart further told IPE the new scheme was finalising details with BlackRock, AXA and BNP Paribas as its new asset managers.

The assets of the refinery scheme have been managed by Barclays Global Investors, taken over by BlackRock in 2009.

The pension fund of BP Nederland had contracted out it asset management to State Street Global Advisors.

According to Lindaart, the coverage ratio of the new BP scheme was 106.7% at the end of December, including 6.6% for increased longevity.

Over the last two months, Syntrus Achmea has won business from the new Dutch pension fund of the Royal Bank of Scotland and the €146m civil service scheme for the Dutch Caribbean.