(Adds company not replying, details on outage, background on
units, refinery)
HOUSTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc
shut the crude distillation units (CDUs) at its
318,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Deer Park, Texas, refinery on
Sunday morning following a malfunction, said sources familiar
with plant operations.
The 70,000-bpd DU-1 CDU was shut first and then the
240,000-bpd DU-2 CDU, the sources said.
A Shell spokesman did not reply to a request for comment.
The CDUs were shut because a seal failed on a pump that
provides feedstock for other units, the sources said.
It was unclear on Sunday if the CDUs would be able to
restart quickly, the sources said.
The CDUs break down crude oil into hydrocarbon feedstocks
for all other production units at the refinery.
The Deer Park refinery is a 50-50 joint venture between
Shell and Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico's
national oil company. Shell is the managing partner.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Peter
Cooney)