Explosion shuts hydrocracker at Czech Litvinov refinery

A hydrocracker at the 108,000 b/d Litvinov refinery in the Czech Republic has been closed following an explosion and fire late on 20 July, the latest in a spate of unplanned shutdowns to hit Europe's downstream sector in recent weeks.

Czech firm Orlen Unipetrol — a subsidiary of Poland's PKN Orlen — said the hydrocracker remained shut today and that excess fuel is being burned in a controlled manner. The fire has been extinguished and an inspection to asses the extent of the damage will start when access to the accident site is made available, which is expected to be later today or tomorrow, Orlen Unipetrol said. Besides the hydrocracker, the refinery continues to operate as does the integrated chemicals complex, the firm said.

The incident at Litvinov is one of several unplanned refinery shutdowns in Europe this summer. Mol's 161,000 b/d Szazhalombatta refinery in Hungary was hit by a fire in mid-June, as was Equinor's 203,000 b/d Mongstad refinery in Norway in early July, while OMV's 193,700 b/d Schwechat refinery in Austria is running at 20pc of capacity after sustaining damage during maintenance in June.

A lightning strike forced the suspension of some diesel and heating oil loadings at Bayernoil's 207,000 b/d Neustadt-Vohburg refinery in south Germany late last month, and an electrical issue resulted in a fire at TotalEnergies' 109,300 b/d Feyzin refinery in France earlier this month.

Market participants say European refineries have been running as hard as maintenance has allowed in recent months to take advantage of exceptionally high margins.

By Tomasz Stepien and James Keates