Emirates National Oil Co (Enoc) will restart next week its 120,000 barrels per day Dubai condensate splitter after scheduled maintenance, industry sources said.
They said the splitter, which was shut down in early May, will operate at full capacity, unlike earlier this year when only one train was operating at about 75 per cent of capacity due to weak refining margins.
"The splitter will be starting up again around June 16-17. It will be running at full capacity in July and August," one Gulf refining source said.
The plant was originally down for maintenance in April but this was postponed due to the Iraq war which drove Gulf demand for jet fuel and other transportation fuels through the roof.
Traders said the restart of the plant, which will coincide with Saudi Aramco bringing on stream a new 200,000 bpd splitter at the Ras Tanura refinery, will add considerably to Middle East naphtha and middle distillate supplies.
At the same time, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc), operator of the region's largest condensate splitter, is slowly raising output at its 280,000 bpd Ruwais plant.
Adnoc has been forced to cut runs by up to 25 per cent since early this year due to feedstock shortages but this is being addressed by new condensate production.
"The Ruwais splitter is starting to get more feedstock after Adnoc managed to get more condensate from the ground and we should see them running at full steam sometime in the third quarter," a trading source said.
Saudi Aramco last week issued a tender to sell jet fuel and gas oil from Ras Tanura for loading between August and December in anticipation of the startup of the new splitter.
The tender, which closed on Monday, will be awarded at the end of this month.
Traders said jet fuel and gas oil premiums in the Middle East were still steady at around a dollar to prevailing spot prices but many expect the differentials to trend down towards the end of the third quarter.
They said the impact on naphtha prices would be greater because the bulk of product produced from a splitter is naphtha, which is already facing up to additional exports from India.
Typically a condensate splitter yields 50 per cent naphtha, 30 per cent jet fuel, 10 per cent gas oil and the remainder is made up of heavy residues.
Enoc set to restart condensate splitter
Enoc set to restart condensate splitter