Montfort aims to restart Fujairah refinery in August

The 67,000 b/d Fort refinery in Fujairah, the UAE, aims to resume production in August after halting operations in May because of a lack of feedstock, the plant owner told Argus.

The refinery is owned by a consortium comprising trading group Montfort and a UAE-based investment group owned by Sheikh Ahmed bin Dalmook al Maktoum.

The Fort refinery is a major producer and exporter of 0.5pc marine fuel — or very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) — with a maximum 5mn t/yr production capacity, but it has been unable to import feedstock from South Sudan because of damage to a pipeline carrying heavy sweet Dar Blend crude.

Crude from South Sudan remains the preferred option, but the refinery operators have been looking into other options in order to restart the plant.

"We have analysed different flexible and profitable business models, and we are planning to restart production in August," said Montfort Investments' head of corporate affairs Joya Chelab.

Chelab said the owners "remain committed to the refinery and take a long-term view on managing the refinery."

The prolonged absence of Fort's VLSFO, the main marine fuel used by vessels, has led to an increase in imports to Fujairah, the world's third largest bunkering centre, in the May-July period. Arrivals rose by 56pc on the year to 36,000 b/d to compensate for the fall in local production, according to global trade analytics firm Kpler.

By Elshan Aliyev