Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil and gas producer, is planning a maintenance shutdown of a unit that produces gasoline components at its refinery in Jeddah, a person with knowledge of the plan said.
The company will close the platformer unit for about three weeks starting Jan 29, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. A company spokesman declined to comment, and other officials at the refinery weren’t available when called by Bloomberg.
The refinery, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, processes 60,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel and naphtha, the company’s website shows. The platformer makes reformate, which is used to produce gasoline.
Refinery operators typically schedule major maintenance shutdowns, known as turnarounds, once every three to five years, halting most units to perform repairs and refurbishments.
Saudi Arabia is expanding refining capacity to produce more fuels such as gasoline and diesel as domestic demand rises. The kingdom is building plants at Jubail on the Arabian Gulf coast, Yanbu on the Red Sea and Jazan in the southwest of the country.
Some of the refineries also supply fuels for export markets, though most of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports are in the form of crude.
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