Sinopec Shuts Crude Unit at Shanghai Refinery After Leak, Fire

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. had a fire at its refinery that shut a residue hydrocracker, according to the company's board secretary.

The blaze started this afternoon and was caused by a leak at the unit, which has a capacity of 3.9 million metric tons, Zhang Jingming said by phone today. Sinopec Shanghai extinguished the fire "very quickly" without casualties and other units were undamaged, he said. The company is working to resume production "shortly" and supplies of refined products won't be affected, according to Zhang.

Sinopec Shanghai rose 2 percent to HK$3.09 in Hong Kong trading today after the company said yesterday that it had a net income of about 170 million yuan ($27.4 million) in the first quarter, compared with a loss in the same period a year earlier. The benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 0.7 percent.

The refinery plans to process 15 million tons of crude this year, Zhang said today. A residue hydrocracker breaks down fuel oil into higher-value products such as gasoline and diesel.