Nigeria’s Dangote refinery has taken its key gasoline-producing unit offline due to catalyst leaks and technical issues, according to industry monitor IIR Energy. The outage, which began around August 29, affects the refinery’s 204,000-barrel-per-day Residue Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit, a critical part of its operations. While a restart attempt is planned for September 20, extensive repairs could prolong the outage for as long as three months. The unit’s shutdown has disrupted output just as the refinery had been ramping up operations and beginning exports to the United States. While the $20 billion refinery has quickly become a global player since opening last year, reshaping oil and fuel trade, it has also faced recurring disruptions. This latest breakdown is already tightening gasoline supplies across the Atlantic Basin, boosting US refiners’ profit margins and driving gasoline futures higher.
Reuters
