BUENOS AIRES/HOUSTON, March 28 (Reuters) - The crude
distillation units and other processing plants at the 87,000
barrel per day (bpd) Campana refinery in Argentina were halted
as part of major planned maintenance that will last until the
first week of April, an industry source told Reuters on Friday.
The refinery, operated by the firm Axion Energy, will be
later expanded in a $1.2 billion upgrade project.
The $300 million overhaul started on March 7 and it will
take up to 40 days to be completed, including a delayed coker, a
catalytic cracker and a reformer. Boilers and fracking towers
will also receive maintenance.
Traders expect Argentina to boost fuel imports during the
work.
The source added that the stoppage will also be used to
prepare further connections with the new units to be added,
which will increase by 60 percent the gasoil production capacity
and by 50 percent the naphtha output at the refinery, located 50
miles (80 km) north of Buenos Aires.
Axion Energy is a subsidiary of Bridas, an oil firm with
operations in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
(Reporting by Guido Nejamkis in Buenos Aires and Marianna
Parraga in Houston)
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