Overhaul at Petroplus' Reichstett Refinery in France

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Petroplus Holding AG's (VTX:PPHN) (Zug, Switzerland) 85,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Reichstett Refinery, located in the Alsace region of northeastern France, is scheduled to undergo a major turnaround in the first quarter of 2010.

The future planned turnaround, which will entail mainly cleaning and inspection, will be carried out in the three areas of the refinery: the Distillation Area, the Fluid Catalytic Cracking and Utilities Area, and the Hydrogen Area, encompassing 14 operational units in all. The overhaul is scheduled to start in March 2010 and is expected to last approximately 49 non-production days. Under normal conditions, general maintenance turnarounds are performed every six years; the previous overhaul took place in March 2004, and the refinery remained offline until the end of April.

The Reichstett refinery specialises in a wide range of products such as bitumen, fuel, Gas Oil, kerosene, LPG and carburants, most of which supply eastern France, with the remainder exported to Germany and Switzerland.

Petroplus Holdings AG is currently the largest independent refiner and wholesaler of petroleum products in Europe. The company runs seven refineries in Europe, most of which have been incorporated into the company within the past eight years. In 2000, Petroplus acquired two refineries in U.K.--the 172,000-BBL/d Coryton Refinery and the 117,000-BBL/d Teesside Refinery--as well as the 68,000-BBL/d Cressier Refinery in Switzerland. In 2006, the company acquired a 110,000-BBL/d refinery in Antwerp, Belgium. In 2007, Petroplus bought the 239,000-BBL/d refinery in Ingolstat, Germany. Finally, two French refineries, the Reichstett Refinery and the 154,000-BBL/d Petit Couronne Refinery, were purchased in March 2008.

View Plant Profile - 1071472

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.