Oil refining at Europe's largest refinery has been completely halted

Both infrastructure units of the British Petroleum oil refinery in Rotterdam stopped their work on Tuesday, June 3, Reuters reports, citing data from Wood Mackenzie.

The 200 barrel-per-day oil unit was shut down. The shutdown followed the shutdown of another 200-barrel unit several days earlier for scheduled maintenance. No exact date has been given for the plant to be put back into operation, despite growing demand and a shortage of raw materials. Experts say the reason may be given to appease shareholders and not reflect the real state of affairs.

As a result of the shutdowns, the Old World market and other regions are missing out on nearly 400 barrels of crude daily. The Rotterdam refinery is one of the largest in Europe and has a processing capacity of 400 barrels of crude oil per day, or 19 million tons per year.

At this facility, BP produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil and petrochemical feedstocks. The plant supplies all BP filling stations in the Netherlands and exports fuel to the United States, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The reduction in refining capacity in Europe could lead to higher refining margins at other refineries as the holiday season and peak demand for finished fuels begin this year. By now, the refining industry has probably overcome last year’s most pressing problem – low margins. They are now rising. The closure of the Dutch refinery will only improve the situation for competitors.

Refiners, including U.S. giants, are already benefiting from higher margins, although they are still well below the record highs seen in 2022 amid industry market turmoil.