South Africa's 107,000 b/d Natref refinery in Sasolburg will undergo a partial maintenance shutdown from July to October affecting several of its units.
The turnaround is understood from South African market sources to affect units producing gasoline, middle distillates and heavy end products, including bitumen.
The refinery's bitumen customers received communication on 24 June from UK-based Prax Group, Natref's minority shareholder with a 36.4pc stake, saying the refinery will undergo maintenance work from 14 July to 8 October.
An official at Sasol, which holds a 63.3pc controlling stake in Natref, said today it could not comment on the refinery's maintenance plans, while Prax officials have so far been unavailable for comment.
The refinery's bitumen customers were informed in April that it would cease bitumen production in September, with final stocks of the product to be sold out a month later.
The move will be one of the results of a major upgrade programme at the refinery that will enable it to run on light sweet crudes and comply with the country's Clean Fuels 2 regulations that come into force on 1 July 2027.
Bitumen market participants said they have been informed that Sasol will maintain normal bitumen production and supply during the upcoming turnaround, while Prax will have no availability of the product.
Bitumen production and truck loadings only resumed in early June, following an unexpected outage in mid-May caused by steam supply issues.
