Shell to shut Singapore hydrocracker Sept for 3 mths
Reuters - Friday, July 17
SINGAPORE, July 16 - Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> will shut a 34,000 barrels per day hydrocracker at its Singapore refinery from mid-September to mid-December for planned maintenance and to integrate the unit with a new ethylene complex, industry sources said on Thursday.
The shutdown will also enable further repairs to be done on the unit's furnace, which was damaged in May and forced the entire 500,000 bpd refinery to run at low throughput for about 30 days, they said.
"The maintenance will still go on for three months. During the emergency shutdown in May, only the necessary work was carried out so that the refinery could ramp up production as soon as possible," a source close to refinery operations said.
"It was running at minimal throughput for about 30 days and product yield was very low at the time. There are still some non-emergency work to be done on the furnance as well."
Shell had said in its online magazine that to enable the refinery conversion to link up with the ethylene complex, a second large-scale turnaround is planned in 2009 to make the final modifications after the completion of a first extensive turnaround to upgrade the hydrocracker's equipment last year.
When contacted, a spokesman declined to confirm the duration of the shutdown. "We do not comment on operational matters," he said.
Industry sources said that about two weeks ago, the hydrocracker also suffered a leak of hydrogen sulphide gas but further disruption was prevented as repairs were carried out on time.
Following the three months maintenance, the hydrocracker will feed raw material into its upcoming 800,000 tonnes per year ethylene complex, which is also located on Bukom island, and is expected to be mechanically ready in early 2010, sources said.
The ethylene complex will serve as a feedstock source, by piping ethylene via existing undersea pipelines to its new 750,000 tpy mono ethylene glycol plant, located at Jurong Island.
The mono ethylene glycol plant, used to make coolants for engines, is slated to come online around the same time as the ethylene complex. (Reporting by Yaw Yan Chong and Seng Li Peng; Editing by Ramthan Hussain)
Reuters - Friday, July 17
SINGAPORE, July 16 - Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> will shut a 34,000 barrels per day hydrocracker at its Singapore refinery from mid-September to mid-December for planned maintenance and to integrate the unit with a new ethylene complex, industry sources said on Thursday.
The shutdown will also enable further repairs to be done on the unit's furnace, which was damaged in May and forced the entire 500,000 bpd refinery to run at low throughput for about 30 days, they said.
"The maintenance will still go on for three months. During the emergency shutdown in May, only the necessary work was carried out so that the refinery could ramp up production as soon as possible," a source close to refinery operations said.
"It was running at minimal throughput for about 30 days and product yield was very low at the time. There are still some non-emergency work to be done on the furnance as well."
Shell had said in its online magazine that to enable the refinery conversion to link up with the ethylene complex, a second large-scale turnaround is planned in 2009 to make the final modifications after the completion of a first extensive turnaround to upgrade the hydrocracker's equipment last year.
When contacted, a spokesman declined to confirm the duration of the shutdown. "We do not comment on operational matters," he said.
Industry sources said that about two weeks ago, the hydrocracker also suffered a leak of hydrogen sulphide gas but further disruption was prevented as repairs were carried out on time.
Following the three months maintenance, the hydrocracker will feed raw material into its upcoming 800,000 tonnes per year ethylene complex, which is also located on Bukom island, and is expected to be mechanically ready in early 2010, sources said.
The ethylene complex will serve as a feedstock source, by piping ethylene via existing undersea pipelines to its new 750,000 tpy mono ethylene glycol plant, located at Jurong Island.
The mono ethylene glycol plant, used to make coolants for engines, is slated to come online around the same time as the ethylene complex. (Reporting by Yaw Yan Chong and Seng Li Peng; Editing by Ramthan Hussain)
