Singapore Refining (SRC) has reduced bitumen exports for November because of technical issues at its 285,000 b/d refinery.
The Singapore-based refinery has been experiencing technical issues since last weekend, resulting in a fall in production at its 100,000 t/yr bitumen plant, a source close to the company said. The repairs are expected to take about two weeks, with bitumen production losses estimated at about 20,000t during November. There was no confirmation if production has completely shut down for this period.
SRC has cut exports for its tank truck buyers in Malaysia for the next few weeks. There were expectations of reduced term supplies for November as well, although further details were unavailable.
SRC also had plans for maintenance during November at the bitumen plant, which are expected to be adjusted because of the current production issues.
SRC, a joint venture between Chinese state-controlled PetroChina's subsidiary Singapore Petroleum and Chevron Singapore, is a key supplier of bitumen to Asia-Pacific along with Shell and ExxonMobil that also have Singapore-based refining capacity.
