Reliance Industries will shut some units at its 660,000 barrels per day (bpd) Jamnagar refinery complex for three to four weeks starting mid-May, after Nayara Energy resumes operations at its Vadinar refinery, as the government moves to stagger refinery maintenance to prevent disruptions in domestic fuel supplies amid the West Asia crisis.
“Refinery shutdowns and turnarounds are a routine part of operations, and the ministry ensures they are staggered so that domestic fuel supplies remain unaffected,” Sujata Sharma, joint secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said on Wednesday.
The maintenance shutdown is expected to begin once Nayara Energy resumes operations at its 400,000 barrels per day refinery in Gujarat, which went into maintenance on April 9.
“Nayara refinery is currently under shutdown and is expected to resume operations by mid-month, following which the Reliance refinery shutdown will commence. Such maintenance shutdowns generally last around four weeks,” she said.
Geopolitical backdrop of the upcoming maintenance schedule
The maintenance schedule comes at a time when India is grappling with supply-chain disruptions caused by the ongoing West Asia conflict and the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and gas trade passes.
Reliance’s Jamnagar complex, with a capacity of 68.2 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), is India’s largest integrated refinery campus. Of the total capacity, about 33 MMTPA caters to domestic fuel supplies while 35.2 MMTPA falls under the special economic zone category meant for exports.
The shutdown at Jamnagar will begin after Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery completes its 35-day maintenance turnaround later this month, Sharma said, adding that the government was ensuring that all refineries do not undertake annual maintenance simultaneously to avoid supply constraints.
India has also activated alternate shipping routes and services to minimise disruption to trade and energy imports from the Gulf region.
“There have been alternate shipping services which have been operationalised with shipping lines such as CMA CGM, Unifeeder, Maersk connecting JNPA, Mundra, Hazira to Sohar, Al Fujairah, and Khorfakkan. So there are many places which have been activated. The cargo is moving,” said Opesh Kumar Sharma, director at the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.
According to the shipping ministry, alternate routes linking Indian ports including Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), Mundra and Hazira with ports in Oman and the UAE have been activated to ensure continuity in cargo movement as congestion eases and trade routes gradually stabilise.
“The industry and government have both taken cognizance of issues related to trade routes, and the reduction in congestion on ports indicated normalisation,” the official said.