(Bloomberg) -- The overhaul of Germany’s biggest oil refinery is set to start in the first quarter of next year, potentially reducing the amount of crude oil the Shell Plc facility handles.
The conversion, first announced three years ago is a response to changing demand for oil products. It will involve the closure of the crude unit in the Wesseling section of the Rheinland complex, while the hydrocracker is being repurposed to make base oils. Shell previously said the reconfiguration would take place by 2025.
“The prepared measures will begin in the first quarter,” Shell said in an emailed response to questions. It declined to be more specific on when either the crude unit or the hydrocracker would be taken out of production, saying only that the conversion is complex and would be done in stages.
BP Plc also plans to scale back crude capacity at its German Gelsenkirchen refinery. The changes at that plant as well as Shell’s Rheinland will leave Miro in southwest Germany as the biggest oil-processing plant in Germany.
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