Abu Dhabi’s main refinery makes China sales push after servicing

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s main refinery is boosting efforts to sell fuel in China, where the economy is starting to recover from the coronavirus, according to Eni SpA, a partner in the plant.

The Ruwais refinery resumed operations after shutting for scheduled maintenance, Peter Sahota, an Eni senior vice president for investor relations, said on a conference call.

ADNOC did general turnaround work on all units of the refinery in the first quarter, Sahota said Thursday, without specifying dates for the servicing.

Ruwais “is ready to supply the Far East, where the crisis is finishing and the consumption is increasing,” Sahota said.

Eni holds a 20 per cent stake in the ADNOC Refining joint venture, which includes the 837,000-barrel-a-day Ruwais refinery.

Rome-based Eni sees Ruwais operating at 60 per cent capacity in the second quarter and reaching full capacity in the second half.

Prior to the pandemic, the plant had been mostly targeting Europe for sales of low-sulfur diesel and jet fuel.

Refineries worldwide have slowed operations as the coronavirus chokes oil consumption. Unlike China, Europe has yet to show sign of a recovery in fuel demand.

ADNOC planned the first-quarter maintenance at Ruwais prior to the outbreak.