Bahrain's only refinery back in business

On The Wires: Bahrain's only refinery run by Bapco is back in business and likely to return to full capacity today the company said.

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Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) is ramping up production at the kingdom's only refinery after shutting some units for maintenance, according to a company official.

Production at the 267,000 barrel-a-day plant will likely return to full capacity today as a hydrocracker resumes operation, said the official, who asked not to be identified in line with company policy.

The state-owned refinery halted the hydrocracker, used to produce distillates including diesel and jet fuel, as part of a scheduled maintenance program starting in February, the company had said.

The refiner planned to perform work on its low-sulfur diesel plant, shutting a hydrocracker, a hydrogen plant, a sulfur-recovery unit and flare, and units for crude, gas recovery and vacuum distillation, according to the January statement.

Refineries generally stagger maintenance, shutting some units at one time and leaving work on others for later. Bapco, as the company is known, may shut its other major units, including a crude facility and diesel plant, in 2013, the official said.

Bloomberg News