Yasref ... operating at 75 per cent capacity
Run rates hit 75pc at Saudi's 400,000-bpd Yasref refinery
NEW DELHI/KHOBAR, October 8, 2015
Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co (Yasref) is operating its refinery at 75 per cent capacity, sources said, potentially boosting product margins as several plants in Asia and the Middle East undergo maintenance.
The Yasref refinery, which began operations at full capacity in July, is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and China's Sinopec. It has a 124,000- bpd hydrocracker, with two trains of equal size.
The plant has been operating at 300,000 bpd for the last week as the refiner is repairing a leak in the exchangers of one of the two hydrocracker trains, one of the sources said.
"The job at the hydrocracker is expected to be over in a week or so," the source said. "Only then will the runs at the crude unit be ramped up to full capacity."
However, a second source said, "Some secondary units are operating more than 100 per cent, some of them close to it, but on average, the refinery is operating at 75 to 85 per cent of capacity."
Refinery runs have been adjusted "based on market needs and economics", the second source added. -- Reuters
