Saudi PetroRabigh  posted a 402.3-million riyal ($107 million) loss in the second quarter after a two-month closure of its refinery slashed sales.     

The joint venture of state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemicals posted a net profit of 121.8 million riyals in the second quarter of 2010. But the closure of the complex for maintenance from April 21-June 30 hit sales for the comparable period of 2011 hard.

"The reason for the loss in the second quarter... is the substantial decrease in sales resulting from loss of production during the shutdown period of the complex for test and inspection maintenance," the firm said in a statement.

Operational losses for the second quarter were 389 million riyals, compared to a profit of 83 million riyals in the same quarter last year, it said.

PetroRabigh started operations at its $10.1 billion complex in 2009. Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical each have 37.5-percent stakes in the joint venture, while the rest is publicly held.

The refinery, which caters mainly to the Saudi, European and North African markets, can process 400,000 barrels of crude per day, accounting for about 19 percent of Saudi Arabia's total refining capacity.

PetroRabigh can produce an annual 18 million tonnes of refined products and 2.4 million tonnes of petrochemical products.  -Reuters