USA
Texas
The Coffeyville Reosurces Refining & Marketing refinery is to restart operations this week following a fire that shut it down on 29 July. The blaze affected an isomerisation unit, which has now been repaired. The company also used the time to make some plant upgrades and other maintenance that was originally scheduled for 2015.
Brazil
A Petrobras Rio de Janeiro refinert sprang a leak in one if its steam boiler units on Monday, maintenance is currently being carried out on the unit.
Petrobras said the units at the refinery were operating normally, but would not specify whether output had been affected.
Chile
Operations at Chile’s Aconcagua refinery were partially halted on Saturday following an earthquake. There were no injuries or damages to infrastructure, however some hydrogen-producing areas were stopped as a safety measure.
New Zealand
Refining New Zealand has recorded a more than 200% decrease in profits. For its half year to June, Marsden Point-based Refining’s total revenue decreased 27%, from US$ 126.4 million to US$ 92.4 million, while its after-tax profit fell from US$ 5.2 million last year to a US$ 6.9 million loss.
Chairman David Jackson said: “ By far the biggest impacts on the company’s processing fee in the first half have been the weakening of refiners’ margins, brought about by the marked decline of the benchmark Singapore refiners’ margin, and the high exchange rate”.
Edited from various sources by Emma McAleavey.