Abu Dhabi – Decypha: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is set to restart a gasoline-making secondary unit in Q1 of 2018, at its Ruwais refinery.
A fire at a linked petrochemical unit forced the company to shut down a residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) in the western section of the refinery.
Initial estimates of the repairs were two to three months, but likely will be prolonged until next year, two sources told Reuters. It is still unclear if the RFCC will need to be replaced.
The RFCC unit is used to convert residue fuel oil into higher-value fuel products such as gasoline and gasoil.
The Ruwais refinery produces 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) with the RFCC responsible for producing up to 127,000 bpd.
With the RFCC shutdown, the company will continue to buy gasoline in the spot market, consequently boosting profit margins for the transport fuel. ADNOC purchased 200,000 tonnes of gasoline from the spot for the months of March and April and is currently seeking a total of 316,000 tonnes of gasoline for May and June.
Approximately 450,000 to 650,000 tonnes of fuel oil has been exported a month by ADNOC which includes 90,000 to 135,00 tonnes of cracked fuel oil and 340,000 to 510,000 tonnes of straight-run fuel oil.
By Decypha Editorial Team
