(Updates with details, quote)
DUBAI/KHOBAR, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery
Company (SAMREF) will shut most of the units at its 400,000
barrel per day (bpd) Yanbu refinery in March to bring a new
cleaner fuel project online, traders said on Monday.
The outage planned by the joint venture between state oil
company Saudi Aramco and U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil is
expected to start on March 10 and last for 45-50 days, traders
and an industry source said.
"Most of the refinery will be down for upgrade to bring the
clean fuel project on stream," one of the sources said.
The world's two largest energy companies have invested $2.5
billion to upgrade the facility on the Red Sea coast of Saudi
Arabia to produce cleaner fuels. The refinery mostly exports
gasoil and gasoline.
There has been a shift in the Middle Eastern refineries to
produce cleaner fuel as they want to target export markets.
Saudi Aramco Total Refinery and Petrochemicals Company
(SATORP), the joint venture that owns the Jubail refinery built
by Aramco and France's Total, will also produce
cleaner fuels.
OPEC member United Arab Emirates is also in the process of
expanding its Ruwais refinery with a view to producing ultra-low
sulphur diesel and sell to export markets.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is likely to start
offering 10 ppm diesel to its customers next year.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Reem Shamseddine; editing by
Daniel Fineren and Jason Neely)