SOUTH Durban-based Engen Refinery, South Africa’s second largest oil refinery, is undergoing planned maintenance. It started on 5 February 2018 and and will run for 45 days until 30 March as part of the refinery’s ongoing maintenance programme.
Jehan Zaib, General Manager of the Engen Refinery, explains that routine maintenance was essential for the safe and reliable operation of the facility. “The planned outage will primarily focus on essential plant maintenance and inspection activities as well as process regeneration activities,” said Zaib.
Additional resources over this period will see the creation of approximately 4 600 temporary positions for skilled workers, and where applicable have been sourced from the local South Durban community.
“To ensure that we complete this planned maintenance outage on time, there will be increased traffic as suppliers and contractors service the refinery,” said Zaib.
“We will however do our utmost to keep any disruption to a minimum and have detailed planning schedules to mitigate any potential access and capacity issues.”
He added that the safety of Engen employees and the neighbouring community was the highest priority to Engen. “We want to thank our neighbours in advance for their understanding during this period.”
Engen is a leading distributor and marketer of fuels, lubricants and oil-based products. It markets approximately one in every four litres of fuel sold in South Africa, while the Engen Refinery produces approximately 17% of South Africa’s refined product.