Essar Oil has decided to defer the planned shutdown of its refinery at Vadinar, Gujarat during May - June 2011. The company has deferred the shutdown until September and October 2011, after the monsoon season due to requests from major public sector consumers mainly Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to continue production due to tightness in the Asian market for petroleum products, particularly gasoil, following recent events in the Middle East and Japan.
However, the deferment will not impact the schedule for commissioning of Vadinar Phase I refinery expansion. The ramp up of the new units will commence in Q3 2011 with majority of the increased production expected from mid Q4 2011.
The planned 35 day shutdown is being undertaken to integrate and synchronize the existing refinery with the new units associated with the Vadinar Phase I refinery expansion. This expansion will increase the capacity from around 300,000 barrels per stream day to 375,000 barrels and increase the complexity from 6.1 to 11.8. The increase in complexity will allow the refinery to process ultra heavy and heavy crude oils, and to produce high grade Euro V fuels which can be sold into International Markets.
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