Algerian state-owned Sonatrach has begun restarting units at its 198,000 b/d refinery at Augusta, Sicily, following planned maintenance.
The refinery has been having a full five-year turnaround, its first since spring 2019, closely following the purchase of the plant from ExxonMobil at the end of 2018. Sonatrach progressively shut units from around the turn of January-February and said it is restarting them in the same manner. The resumption of operations is underway, it said. The firm is aiming to restart a string of units by 15 April including a propane-butane splitter and LPG Merox unit, a fuels vacuum distillation unit (VDU), a crude distillation unit (CDU), a desulphuriser, a de-waxing unit and a pair of reformers. The firm said there would be flaring and noise during the process.
The remaining CDU, the refinery's catalytic cracker (FCC), propylene splitter, lubricants VDU and other units will be restarted between 15-30 April.
Market participants have said they expect the first oil products cargoes to be available from Augusta around the middle of the month.
