Bahrain Refinery Returns to Full Capacity

Production at the 267,000 barrel-a-day plant will likely return to full capacity today as a Hydrocracker resumes operation, said the official, who asked not to be identified in line with company policy. 

The state-owned refinery halted the Hydrocracker, used to produce distillates including diesel and jet fuel, as part of a scheduled maintenance program starting in February, the company had said. 

The maintenance work continued amid violent clashes in the island nation that led the government to impose a state of emergency and curfew. Middle East states are being shaken by anti-government protests that have spread from Tunisia and Egypt over the last three months. Demonstrators in states including Bahrain and Oman have demanded more political representation, better pay and improved employment prospects. 

The refiner planned to perform work on its low-sulfur diesel plant, shutting a hydrocracker, a hydrogen plant, a sulfur-recovery unit and flare, and units for crude, gas recovery and vacuum distillation, according to the January statement. 

Refineries generally stagger maintenance, shutting some units at one time and leaving work on others for later. Bapco, as the company is known, may shut its other major units, including a crude facility and diesel plant, in 2013, the official said.