RELEASED ON 23/01/13 (DD/MM/YY)

Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co (Orpic) will conduct a 45-day turnaround at its 117,000 bbl/day refinery in Sohar between March and April, based on a finalised schedule, a company source said on Wednesday.

The shutdown was initially set in February. No reason was provided for the change in shutdown dates.

Orpic comprises Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Co LLC (ORPC), Aromatics Oman LLC (AOL) and Oman Polypropylene (OPP).

The Sohar refinery has a 75,250 bbl/day residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit, which produces 327,000 tonnes/year of propylene, providing the feedstock for a 340,000 tonnes/year polypropylene (PP) plant at the site.

“Orpic will not likely be producing or selling during that period. Expect prices to go up because of tight supply,” the company source said.

SOURCE ICIS News - For internal use only