Shell and others to shut gasoline units for maintenance

Unless there is unexpected demand during the shutdown, traders believe the market is unlikely to be affected as refiners normally stock up sufficient buffer.

Shell will shut its gasoline-making unit starting August and one of three crude distillation units (CDU) in May for routine maintenance at its refinery. Around the same time Singapore Refining Co and Exxon Mobil Corp will also take down some units at their respective plants.

"Refining margins have improved but are still not fantastic and the plant has not been running at full capacity. When CDU No. 5 is taken down, they will run the other two units at higher rates to make up for the loss of products," a source said about Shell.

View the full story in Reuters.