Argentina Faces Fuel Shortage On Shell Refinery Shutdown

BUENOS AIRES -(Dow Jones)- A day after the Argentine government ordered Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) to shut down its Doc Sud refinery, it was unclear how a potentially large gap in fuel supplies would be covered.

A government energy official told Dow Jones Newswires that Shell had begun to shut down the refinery after Energy Secretary officials Wednesday night ordered operations to cease due to alleged environmental infractions.


It wasn’t clear to what extent operations were affected, however. A Shell spokesman said company executives were discussing the next step with government officials, but that the refinery continued to operate.

“You can’t turn off a refinery overnight,” the government energy official said. “They (Shell) are turning off furnaces…gradually, in a safe way,” he said.

Shell was expected to seek a restraining order to block the shutdown order.

CNN