据能源世界网11月24日休斯敦报道，据熟悉工厂运营的人士周一称，荷兰皇家壳牌公司(Royal Dutch Shell PLC)可能从下周初开始永久关闭其位于路易斯安那州Convent的炼油厂，这家炼油厂的日产量为211,146桶。

壳牌公司于11月5日宣布，这家位于新奥尔良以西57英里（合92公里）的炼油厂将因新冠疫情未能找到买家而关闭。

壳牌发言人未回复记者的置评请求。

Convent炼油厂是美国墨西哥湾沿岸第一家永久性关闭的炼油厂，由于与大流行相关的精炼产品需求下降。 北美其他八家工厂已经闲置或计划关闭。

据分析人士称，今年早些时候，新冠疫情将燃料需求削减了多达30％，即使经济复苏，未来五年全球每天的需求也可能减少470万桶。

由于在经济放缓的情况下对航空燃料，柴油和汽油的需求疲软，今年三家美国炼油厂已经关闭。

今年八月，Calcasieu炼油厂闲置其日产13.55万桶的路易斯安那州查尔斯湖工厂，理由是需求下降导致利润微弱。 马拉松石油公司（Marathon Petroleum Corp）表示，不会重启其位于加利福尼亚州马丁内斯市和新墨西哥州盖洛普市炼油厂的生产。

壳牌本月将其位于新加坡日产50万桶Pulau Bukom工厂的原油加工能力减半。 美国和欧洲的工厂正在考虑改造一些设施以生产生物燃料。

根据EIA的数据显示，美国炼油厂8月份的日产量为1,860万桶，占总产能的78.8%，低于3月份的83.1%。

郝芬 译自 能源世界网

原文如下：

Shell may permanently shut Louisiana refinery next week -sources

Royal Dutch Shell PLC may begin the permanent shutdown of its 211,146 barrel-per-day Convent, Louisiana, refinery early next week, people familiar with plant operations said on Monday.

Shell announced on Nov. 5 the refinery, located 57 miles (92 km) west of New Orleans, was to close after the company failed to find a buyer amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Shell spokesman did not reply to a request for comment.

The Convent refinery is first U.S. Gulf Coast refinery to permanently close because of the pandemic-related decline in demand for refined products. Eight other North American plants have been idled or targeted for shutdowns.

The coronavirus pandemic cut fuel demand by up to 30 per cent earlier this year, and even as economies recover the outbreak will likely reduce global demand by 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) over the next five years, analysts have said.

Three U.S. oil refineries have shut already this year because of weak demand for jet fuel, diesel and gasoline amid a slowing economy.

In August, Calcasieu Refining idled its 135,500-bpd Lake Charles, Louisiana, facility, citing weak margins from falling demand. Marathon Petroleum Corp has said it will not restart production at its refineries in Martinez, California, and Gallup, New Mexico.

Shell this month halved its crude processing capacity at its 500,000 bpd Pulau Bukom plant in Singapore. Plants in the U.S. and Europe are considering converting some facilities to produce biofuels.

U.S. refineries in August ran at 78.8 per cent of their 18.6 million barrels per day (bpd) capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, down from 83.1 per cent in March.