ExxonMobil to shut Singapore refinery in June-July

SINGAPORE, Mar 6 (Reuters) Exxon Mobil Corp. will shut the larger of its two refineries in Singapore for a 45-day regular maintenance from mid-June, refining sources said on Monday.

The 309,000 barrels per day (bpd) facility on mainland Singapore will be shut until second-half July, with its crude distillation units (CDUs) as well as other secondary units taken down in stages, the sources added.

When contacted, a spokesman for the oil major declined comment.

The turnaround is Exxon Mobil's second major maintenance in two years. Last March, the U.S. oil major shut down its other plant, the 296,000-bpd facility on Jurong Island off the west coast.

''This is ExxonMobil's second big one in two years. After this, there shouldn't be any major ones, other than routine jobs on secondary units, for a while,'' a refining source said.

It is not known if Singapore's two other refineries -- Shell's 458,000-bpd facility and Singapore Refining Co.'s 285,000-bpd plant -- will be taken down this year as both underwent major turnarounds in 2006.

The turnaround comes at the end of the second-quarter Asian maintenance season, which sees several regional refineries, including in South Korea, Japan and the Middle East, undergoing scheduled maintenance during the June-July period.

REUTERS CS SSC1118