Saudi Aramco to keep Jeddah refinery open till 2022: report

State-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, plans to maintain the production of asphalt from the Jeddah refinery till 2022 due to the strong demand from the kingdom’s western region and the lack of a similar refinery that can compensate, local Makkah newspaper reported Wednesday, citing sources.

Sources close to Aramco said that the company will go ahead with its plan to close the benzene, diesel, and naphtha production units at the Jeddah refinery by the end of 2017.

Earlier this week, Reuters had quoted sources from the oil sector saying that Aramco is mulling closing its outdated refinery after a few years due to environmental concerns. The Jeddah refinery currently has a capacity of 90,000 barrels per day.