2007-10-08

Faulty valves keep Neste Oil's new diesel line shut for several weeks

Faults have been identified in some of the valves on Neste Oil's new diesel line at the Porvoo refinery. As a safety measure, Neste Oil has decided to replace all valves of the type in question before starting up production again. Replacing hundreds of valves will mean that the line will be out of production for several more weeks. The total number of valves in the diesel line is tens of thousands.

The faults were identified during the recent brief maintenance outage. The company is investigating the reason for the problem together with the manufacturer and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The valves were pressure-tested prior to the line being started up and no problems were encountered with them when it was running.

The valve problem will not affect the company's ability to supply its customers with products. The loss of output will affect Neste Oil's fourth-quarter figures, however, although it will not fundamentally impact the company's financial result for the year as a whole.

Information about the company: Neste Oyj