Coal, Oil & Gas News South Africa

Engen Refinery to undergo temporary controlled shutdown

The Engen Refinery is undergoing a temporary controlled shutdown due to the forecasted lower demand for petroleum products during the national lockdown.
Engen Refinery
Engen Refinery

With Engen’s product inventory currently high and building up fast, a controlled safe shutdown of the refinery is inevitable. “We are already experiencing lower demand and are forecasting an even lower demand offtake, which would force our refinery to scale back beyond its safe operating envelop and increases environmental emission risk,” says Yusa’ Hassan, managing director and CEO at Engen.

“This considered decision will enable us to support and maximise our offtake from the inland refineries to ensure they can continue operations and meet the inland demand."

Focus on health and safety

Stringent safety process will be observed during the shutdown process. “The health and safety of our employees and our neighbouring communities is at all times of the highest priority to Engen," Hassan says.

“As a consequence of the temporary shutdown, as many as 600 additional employees will observe the stay at home restrictions during the national lockdown, which will help support our nation’s Covid-19 alleviation efforts.

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