Sinopec's Maoming further delays coker maintenance

BEIJING, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Sinopec's (0386.HK) Maoming refinery has postponed further the maintenance of a delayed coking unit to the second quarter as it operates at near full speed to meet firm domestic fuel demand, an industry source said.

The plant plans to process 256,700 barrels of crude oil per day in February, slightly higher than the 254,300 bpd in January, the source close to the refinery said.

The plant previously planned to overhaul the 1-million-tonne-per-year coking unit in December but later decided to postpone the maintenance to the first quarter of 2008, as the country struggled with a serious diesel shortage that late last year spread from the coast to inland regions.

The coking facility processes heavy residue oil into light transportation fuels.

The supply squeeze started to ease this month after oil majors stepped up production and raised imports, but supplies remained intermittent in several provinces in southern China due to transport failures caused by power outages and icy weather. (Reporting by Jim Bai; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)