A number of bitumen, gasoline and gasoil units at the 198,000 b/d Augusta refinery in Sicily are scheduled to restart in early March after a maintenance shutdown that has been underway since early to mid-February.
The halt at the Algerian state-owned Sonatrach's refinery was planned in connection with catalyst regeneration work at unspecified units, with the work now close to completion.
The Augusta refinery received around 72,000 b/d of crude in February, according to Vortexa data, down from 152,000 b/d in January and an average of 150,000 b/d in 2022.
The turnaround has not impacted the rate of Augusta bitumen cargo export flows because of high tank storage capacity at the refinery and terminal complex, a key source of cargo supplies into Algeria and other Mediterranean and international markets.
The first three weeks of March are expected to see a surge in Algerian road construction activity and bitumen import requirements before the start of the Ramadan fasting month from around 22 March that will limit rates of work, especially in southern Algeria where hotter weather prevails.
