Shell’s Philippines unit will suspend refining operations at its 110,000-bpd refinery in the country for a month starting in the middle of May, due to the dramatic plunge in fuel demand and the erosion of refining margins in the COVID-19 pandemic. “In response to the drastic decline in local product demand and the significant deterioration of regional refining margins brought about the COVID-19 pandemic, the company will temporarily shut down its refinery operations for approximately one month starting mid-May 2020,” Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation said in a statement carried by Reuters. “The temporary shutdown will help insulate the company from further potential drops in refining margins and will also aid in its cash conservation initiatives,” Shell’s unit in the Philippines, operator of one of the two refineries in the country, said. At the Q1 earnings call last week, Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden, said that the oil supermajor […]