Reuters cited Shell as saying that the company will close large parts of the refinery complex until early May for maintenance.
The program requires one million man-hours of work by Shell employees and contractors, including an extra 2,000 staff.
According to a source, the refinery’s crude distillation unit and a hydro cracker unit have been shutdown for maintenance.
Spread over 1,400 acres, Pernis is a joint oil refinery/chemicals manufacturing site. The oil refinery is operated by Shell Nederland Raffinaderij and the chemicals plant by Shell Nederland Chemie.
With a capacity of about 400,000 barrels a day, Pernis is one of largest facilities owned by Shell. It includes a hydrocracker and a polygeneration plant.
