Pipe problem to shut Israel's Oil Refineries unit for a month.

Israel's Oil Refineries (ORL) said it would shut its hydrocracker, which creates high quality gasoline and other fuel, for a month to repair a pipe at the entrance to its facility, a move that may cost as much as $10 million.

ORL, Israel's largest refining and petrochemicals group, said the incident caused no harm to the environment or safety.

'The company is preparing to fix the problem and its assessment ... is an initial estimate of the impact of the shutdown on net profit is about $8 million to $10 million,' ORL said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange recently.

ORL's new hydrocracker came online in early 2013 and, along with a switch to natural gas, enabled the company to post higher refining margins. Its shares closed 2.6 per cent lower, compared with gains of 0.4 per cent on the broader Tel Aviv bourse. In the second quarter, ORL, controlled by conglomerate Israel Corp, swung to a profit due to the transition to natural gas.


HBL