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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