South Africa’s oldest crude oil refinery, the 120,000 barrel per day plant operated by Engen (Enref), will be converted into a new storage facility because the refinery is no longer sustainable in the long term.
The refinery, situated on the eastern coast in the city of Durban, has been shut down since a fire in December damaged the plant that supplies around 17 percent of the country’s fuel production and is South Africa’s second largest crude refinery.
Engen’s CEO Yusa Hassan said: “The conclusion of the strategic assessment is that the Engen refinery is unsustainable in the longer-term.”
Hassan said a globally challenging refining environment with supply surplus, depressed demand and low refining margins had placed Engen in “financial distress”.
He added that unaffordable costs to meet the government’s cleaner fuel drive by upgrading refineries was another reason to convert the refinery.
Engen is majority-owned by Malaysia’s oil and gas firm, Petronas.
For more information visit engen.co.za
