State-giant Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) are scheduling a major maintenance shutdown at the Red Sea Yanbu refinery in March and April, in order to bring a new clean-fuel project online, two people familiar with the matter said Monday.
State-giant Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) are scheduling a
major maintenance shutdown at the Red Sea Yanbu refinery in March and April, in
order to bring a new clean-fuel project online, two people familiar with the
matter said Monday.
The refinery, which is operated by Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Co., or SAMREF,
will close for about 45 days starting March 10, one of the people told Dow
Jones Newswires.
The refinery, the world's largest single-train crude oil facility, processes
about 400,000 barrels a day of Saudi Arabian crude oil, half of which is
consumed domestically. This makes it the main supplier of gasoline in the
western region of the kingdom, according to the Saudi Aramco website.
During the maintenance period, SAMREF will boost the reliability of the fluid catalytic
cracker, which helps turn crude oil into gasoline and upgrade the refinery to
produce cleaner fuels, another person said. The clean fuels project is expected
to reduce sulfur levels by more than 98% in gasoline by 2013 and in diesel by
2016.
Top oil exporter
Saudi Arabia
is
expanding its refining capacity to produce more gasoline and diesel to meet
rising domestic demand.
Saudi Aramco currently owns and operates four refineries serving the local
market, with a combined refining capacity of 1 million barrels per day. The
firm also owns 50% interest in SAMREF and in Saudi Aramco Total Refinery and
Petrochemicals Co., a joint venture with
France
's
Total, which will also produce cleaner fuels.
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