Oil and gas companies in Europe and North America have delayed planned maintenance at their facilities due to the coronavirus pandemic. This decision was taken after the governments restricted the numbers of contractors on oil and gas production sites, rigs, and pipelines.
This forces refiners to adjust their plans, prioritizing most urgent projects to proceed while other works have to wait. Oil infrastructures are subject to regular inspections due to risks to workers and the environment.
Norway’s Equinor postponed turnarounds at five offshore oil and gas platforms as well as an LNG plant. Producers in Canadian oil sands also delayed their planned plant works. Meanwhile, Phillips 66 has pushed back three major planned works.
Norway’s gas network operator said it would reduce non-crucial projects only. Meanwhile, Marathon Petroleum will postpone major work scheduled at its Galveston Bay refinery. Finland’s Neste has scaled back turnarounds at its main refineries.
The restrictions on the number of workers have frustrated oil majors. This time should be the best to perform maintenance at refineries due to the plunging demand for gasoline, jet fuel, and LNG due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Traders and executives in the industry estimated the maintenance delays would impact the supply and demand balance.
