Shell has begun restarting a crude distillation unit (CDU) at its 404,000 b/d Pernis refinery in Rotterdam after shutting it down last week because of a leak, according to sources.
The refinery's second CDU is operating as normal, the sources say, contrary to suggestions from diesel and bitumen market participants earlier today that both CDUs were offline.
Pernis is the largest refinery in Europe and has two equal-sized CDUs. Two vacuum distillation units that were also taken offline after the leak are expected to restart next week. Shell has declined to go on the record to discuss the refinery's status.
Market participants had expected the disruption at Pernis to tighten supply, although Shell may have been able to continue selling products out of storage.
Diesel premiums to North Sea Dated crude in northwest Europe have been climbing in recent days and reached nearly $24/bl on 15 June, which was the highest since 31 March. The backwardation in the Ice gasoil futures forward curve has also widened to its steepest level since 31 March. Gasoil stocks in independently-held storage at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub were drawn down by 4pc in the week to 14 June, while gasoline and naphtha inventories were down by 5pc and 7pc, respectively.
Bitumen traders said that the Pernis halt has restricted availability of both truck and cargo supplies in the area. And one added that they have been approached by Shell seeking bitumen truck volumes to meet its requirements.
