Singapore - Engen Petroleum has partially shut its 125,000
barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery in South Africa as maintenance cuts crude oil
supplies, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The Durban single buoy mooring, which brings crude oil into
the refinery, will be out of commission for part of May, spokesperson Tania
Landsberg said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
As a result, Engen will shut some unspecified units at its
refinery between May 5 and May 24 for maintenance, she added.
The refinery will continue to operate at a reduced run rate,
Landsberg said, without providing further details.
The refinery was last shut in mid-October after a fire
damaged its crude unit.
Engen is majority owned by Malaysia’s state oil company
Petronas while the single buoy mooring is managed by Sapref, which is jointly
owned by BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
Engen used to be the biggest South African buyer of Iranian
crude, said in April it has halted all imports from Iran due to Western
sanctions.
It has since turned to top oil exporter Saudi Aramco for
additional crude. Any disruption in crude imports could hit fuel supplies in
South Africa, which have already been volatile because of strikes and refinery
problems.