Attock Refinery Closes Plant Due to Low Furnace Oil Demand

Attock Refinery Limited (PSX: ATRL) is temporarily shutting down its main distillation unit for eight days. According to a stock filing, ATRL is closing the main distillation unit due to ullage constraints resulting from low demand for Furnace Oil. “During this period, some necessary maintenance jobs would also be carried out,” it read. The filing stated that as a result of this shutdown, the refinery will be operating at a capacity of 35 percent. However, adequate inventories of products are available to meet the current requirements. “This has been intimated to the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) and [the] Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA accordingly,” it added. ATRL is the second local refinery to announce the closure in a space of one week. Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) announced on Friday that it would close its refinery for 20 days in spite of OGRA’s directive to continue operations in order to meet the country’s diesel requirements. PRL reportedly planned to shut down for annual maintenance, but OGRA asked its management in a letter to continue operations in December. OGRA wrote the letter to PRL at the beginning of the current month, following a review meeting of the country’s oil supplies. The refinery informed the PSX of the refinery’s closure while also sharing related material information with stockholders. The filing stated, “PRL is carrying out its regeneration shutdown starting from 10th December 2022 for approximately 20 days. Consequently, the refinery will be shut down during this period”.