Aramco, Exxon Said to Plan 2013 Shutdown for Maintenance at Yanbu Refinery

Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil Corp. are scheduling the next major maintenance shutdown at their Yanbu refinery in 2013 after completing work there earlier this year, a person with knowledge of the plan said.

The refinery, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, plans to close for about 45 days starting in February 2013, said the person, who asked not to be named because maintenance schedules are not publicly disclosed. Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Co., known as Samref, will boost the reliability of the fluid catalytic cracker as part of the maintenance program, the person said. The FCC helps turn crude oil into gasoline.

Refinery operators generally schedule major maintenance shutdowns, known as turnarounds, every three or four years, stopping most of the units. The 400,000 barrel-a-day Samref refinery completed a shutdown in April, and all units are now running, said the person. Work lasted 50 days after the FCC had technical problems, he said.

Aramco also operates a wholly owned refinery in Yanbu that is planning a turnaround in February, according to another person with knowledge of the maintenance schedule. A Dhahran- based spokesman at Aramco, which has a policy of not discussing joint-venture refineries, declined to comment on either project. A Yanbu-based spokesman at Samref also declined to comment. Kevin Allexon, an Irving, Texas-based spokesman for Exxon, said the company doesn’t comment on maintenance schedules.

Saudi Arabia is expanding refining capacity to produce more gasoline and diesel as domestic demand rises. The kingdom is building three refineries at Jubail, on the Persian Gulf coast, another at Yanbu and one at Jazan in the southwest.

Fuel Imports

While countries in the Persian Gulf hold more than half the world’s crude oil reserves, they import fuels for lack of processing capacity. Imports help cover supply when refineries undergo maintenance when temperatures are cooler.

Saudi Aramco is buying gasoline from September through the end of the year, traders with knowledge of the tenders said last week. The company is buying at least four cargoes of gasoline a month, according to the traders, who asked not to be identified since the talks aren’t public.

Aramco’s gasoline tenders indicate refinery units are offline, the traders said. Rabigh Refining and Petrochemicals Co., a joint venture of Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical Co. of Japan, experienced a technical malfunction that cut output this month. It did work this week on oxygen and nitrogen production units, which are part of the chemicals plant.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anthony DiPaola in Dubai at adipaola@bloomberg.net.

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