Some refiners in Europe are going ahead with expansion projects despite a dire medium-term outlook for the sector, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

"While European refiners in general have been cancelling expansion projects and are looking to shut capacity, a few projects remain active," the energy watchdog for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said in its monthly oil market report.

These include the recent commissioning of a new crude distillation unit, or CDU, at Motor Oil Corinth Refineries SA's (MOH.AT) Corinth refinery in Greece . The EUR180 million project raises the refinery's CDU capacity by 60,000 barrels a day. According to the company's website, the refinery's processing capacity has risen by 25% to over 170,000 barrels a day.

Motor Oil's new CDU could account for a rise in Greece 's June refinery runs to 455,000 barrels a day, up 50,000 barrels a day from May.

The IEA also cited the La Rabida refinery in Huelva , Spain , operated by Compania Espanola de Petroleos SA (CEP.MC), or Cepsa, as another project boosting the continent's refining capacity. A new hydrocracker and crude distillation unit at the plant are currently in the testing phase, the company said, but it's unclear whether a fatal fire at the plant in early August will affect the units' startup.

"Further growth could still be to come," the IEA said, because the refinery's run rates were broadly stable after the fire compared with recent months.

Finally, the EUR3.2 billion expansion of Spanish energy company Repsol YPF's (REP) Cartagena refinery will double the plant's capacity to 220,000 barrels a day in the second half of next year, according to the company website. The expansion project will boost the refinery's upgrading capacity to produce more middle distillate products like diesel. It includes a new hydrocracker and coker, as well as desulfurization, atmospheric and vacuum distillation units.

The Cartagena refinery investment will make it "one of the most complex refineries in the region," the IEA said.

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