PARIS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Shell will not extend its oil processing contract at troubled French Petit-Couronne refinery beyond mid-december, a spokeswoman from the judicial administrator said after a court hearing in Rouen.

The refining units, which stopped production on January 10, restarted operations in June under a deal with Royal Dutch Shell , the former owner of the refinery, to deliver 100,000 barrels per day of products.

Unions say that stopping the production means the refinery will be a lot harder to sell because of expensive restart costs.

'A representative of Shell said the company was not planning to extend the contract,' the spokeswoman told Reuters.

So far only NetOil, a company led by Middle Eastern businessman Roger Tamraz, has submitted an offer while 7 others have filled letters of intent to buy France's oldest refinery.

'The court said Net Oil's offer still lacked administrative authorisations and financial guarantees,' she said.

Other candidates are Hong-Kong-based APG, the Lybian Investment Authority, Jabs Gulf Energy Ltd, an Iraqi company owned by Abu Dhabi's Hanna Al Shaikh Group, Iran's Tadbir Energy Development Group (TEDG), Swiss consortium Activapro AG, and Terrae International SA, another Swiss company.

The court will convene again on Dec. 7 to review offers.

(Reporting by Muriel Boselli and Michel Rose) Keywords: PETROPLUS SHELL/

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.