China’s Sinopec 600028 aims to make a second attempt at starting the new crude unit at its Zhenhai refinery between late April and first-half May, after a fire broke out in January when it first tried launching the unit, several trade sources said.

Some equipment had to be replaced following the January accident at the facility in eastern China, delaying the start-up of the 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude distillation unit by more than three months, two of the sources said.

A Zhenhai refinery representative said the start-up date has yet to be finalised. Sinopec Corp did not respond to a request for comment.

This is the second major crude oil processing unit due to start operating in China this year. Shandong Yulong Petrochemical launched its second new crude unit this month.

Zhenhai, Sinopec’s largest subsidiary refinery, completed a major expansion last December raising the plant’s crude processing capacity to 800,000 bpd from 460,000 bpd.
Source: Reuters