The first fuel exports from Saudi Aramco and China’s Sinopec joint refinery, Yasref, will be delayed to early 2015, Reuters has reported.
The 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, started trial runs in September and had originally planned its first exports by November but had to push them back to December this year.
The refinery was in the final stages of commissioning, with crude units running and producing intermediate feed, until a small delay to a secondary unit occured.
It was not clear what caused the delay but a source close to the matter told Reuters it was now under control and oil products might be exported in January.
Yasref is the second refinery to start up in Saudi Arabia in the past two years amid Saudi Aramco’s plans to become a leading exporter of diesel.
The first oil product shipment will likely be off-specification high sulphur gasoil.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, Sinopec, will target Europe and East Africa for diesel shipments from the refinery, with the first clean diesel cargo due in Q1 of 2015.
Yasref is expected to produce 263,000 bpd of diesel, 90,000 bpd of gasoline, 6,200 tonnes per day of petroleum coke, 1,200 tonnes per day of pelletized sulphur and 140,000 tonnes per annum of benzene, according to the company’s website.
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