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Durban - The Engen oil refinery in Durban is expected to be back in production in January 2009, company spokesperson Herb Payne said on Monday.
A fire resulted in the closure of the refinery earlier this month.
Investigations revealed that the blaze - which broke out in the crude unit - was caused by a mechanical problem which led to 20 000 litres of oil going up in smoke.
Damages were estimated at around R50m. The plant was subsequently closed. For each day it remained closed, the refinery would lose roughly R6m.
On Monday Payne said after assessments, Engen management believed they could be back in production by mid-January.
The company's general manager Willem Oosthuizen said two of the three crude pumps damaged in the blaze were salvaged and being repaired.
The pump feeds crude oil into the refinery for processing. The third pump was beyond repair but the company managed to obtain a new one from abroad.
Oosthuizen said while the delivery of the new pump may take some time, it would not hamper production at the refinery.
"[T]he crude unit can comfortably operate at full capacity on two pumps and the refinery should consequently be able to restart as soon (as the) crude unit damage has been repaired, the refurbished pumps re-installed and the system thoroughly tested," he said.
Payne said the company would know in about a week's time what had caused the mechanical problem that led to the blaze.
They were also awaiting the results of the analysis of air samples taken on the refinery's perimeter and in surrounding areas during and after the fire.
These would be used to assess whether the fire had an health impact on neighbouring residents.