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CAPE TOWN, Feb 10 (Reuters) - South Africa's largest
refinery, SAPREF, a 50/50 joint venture between oil majors BP
and Shell will pause operations indefinitely
from March 22 as its owners consider selling the plant.
Situated in the east coast city of Durban, SAPREF has a
nameplate capacity of 180,000 barrels per day and accounts for
around 35% of the refining capacity in Africa's most
industrialised economy, a net importer of petroleum products.
"The decision has been taken to allow an informed
finalization on the various options available to the
shareholders, a sale option being the most preferred," said the
statement.
"Until decisions about the future of the plant have been
made – including a possible change of ownership – the SAPREF
shareholders are unable to commit to further investment in the
refinery," the operators said.
In September, South Africa's petroleum industry body SAPIA
warned the country's refinery capacity could become obsolete
within two years as the government pushed to introduce rules
meant to reduce sulphur emissions from 2023.
The South African Petroleum Industry Association, which
represents oil firms such as BP and Shell that operate local
refineries, has deadlocked with government in talks to finance
the upgrade of six refineries to cleaner fuels at an estimated
cost of $3.9 billion.
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Emma Rumney, Alexandra
Hudson)
