Yemen's Aden oil refinery shuts as crisis worsens
SINGAPORE, April 10, 2015
Yemen's 150,000 barrels-per-day Aden refinery has shut as the conflict in the country worsens, industry sources said on Friday.
"The refinery is shut down and delivery of cargoes will be difficult unless sellers and buyers can accept the available quantity," one of the sources close to the matter said.
Aden Refinery Company earlier suspended its tender process to import oil products into the country due to the crisis.
It is unclear how long the refinery will be shut but Yemen on Thursday sold a prompt Marib crude cargo to China's Unipec via a tender, supplies originally meant for its refinery.
Aden refinery exports on average about 50,000 tonnes of naphtha every month and jet fuel occasionally. Yemen is reliant on imports of motor fuels gasoline and diesel, importing about 300,000 tonnes every month.
With the closure of the refinery and the oil import tender process suspended, the country is likely to face severe fuel shortages, traders said.
Saudi Arabia and Arab allies have launched air strikes against the Iran-allied Houthi movement, which has taken most of the country and forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Riyadh.
International shipping lines are being forced to scale back or suspend port calls to Yemen with at least four oil and gas tankers that were headed there diverted. - Reuters