Vitol has began constructing a small oil refinery at its storage terminal in Malaysia, aiming to supply low-sulphur fuel for vessels. The project is expected to be completed in May 2020. The project includes a crude distillation unit that can process 30,000 barrels per day of crude.
As Reuters reported, the project is located in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, as Vitol Asia’s President and Chief Executive Officer Kho Hui Meng, informed.
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A construction unit under China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is managing the project, which regards moving a second-hand CDU from China to the site.
The project is planned to be completed in May 2020, and aspires to improve Vitol’s refinery in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, providing low-sulphur fuel oil for vessels.
The new Malaysian refinery will have the capability to process various low-sulphur oils available in the market. This includes US West Texas Intermediate crude that Vitol trades in.
Production of low-sulphur fuel from Vitol’s new refinery will start just in time to meet increasing demand as today’s stockpiles of this fuel in the area would have been drawn down by the middle of 2020.
