Petron advances refinery maintenance to December
11/29/2008 | 01:11 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Petron Corp., the country’s largest oil refiner, said Friday its refinery will be shut down in December, a month ahead of schedule, for maintenance.
The shutdown, it said, will allow the tie-in of its new benzene, toulene and xylene (BTX) or petrochemicals unit to the continuous catalytic regenerator at the refinery also a month ahead of schedule.
Maintenance was originally scheduled for January 2009, and the tie-in, for March 2009. The shutdown will last for the whole of December.
"The decision to shut down our refinery one month earlier will put us in a better position to take advantage of market improvements that we project to happen in the first quarter of 2009," said Virginia A. Ruivivar, Petron public affairs manager in a statement.
"As the oil markets stabilize, we also expect prices of petrochemical feedstocks to become firmer," she added.
Its BTX unit will allow Petron to produce 22,000 metric tons of benzene and 150,000 metric tons of toluene per year, and increase its mixed xylene production to 220,000 metric tons per year.
Its refinery can process 180,000 barrels of oil per day.
Maintenance work for other units in its refinery will also be conducted in December.
The company, however, assures the public that it has more than enough inventory to serve the country’s requirements. The company has been building up its inventory for the past weeks. — Ava Kashima K. Austria, BusinessWorld
The shutdown, it said, will allow the tie-in of its new benzene, toulene and xylene (BTX) or petrochemicals unit to the continuous catalytic regenerator at the refinery also a month ahead of schedule.
Maintenance was originally scheduled for January 2009, and the tie-in, for March 2009. The shutdown will last for the whole of December.
"The decision to shut down our refinery one month earlier will put us in a better position to take advantage of market improvements that we project to happen in the first quarter of 2009," said Virginia A. Ruivivar, Petron public affairs manager in a statement.
"As the oil markets stabilize, we also expect prices of petrochemical feedstocks to become firmer," she added.
Its BTX unit will allow Petron to produce 22,000 metric tons of benzene and 150,000 metric tons of toluene per year, and increase its mixed xylene production to 220,000 metric tons per year.
Its refinery can process 180,000 barrels of oil per day.
Maintenance work for other units in its refinery will also be conducted in December.
The company, however, assures the public that it has more than enough inventory to serve the country’s requirements. The company has been building up its inventory for the past weeks. — Ava Kashima K. Austria, BusinessWorld
