KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 22): Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd and Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd confirm today that crude oil vessels are unable to discharge crude oil at two refineries owned by them in Port Dickson.

They blamed the incident on a technical problem with their single buoy mooring facilities.

Their comments follow a Reuters report that two tankers carrying oil were unable to offload their cargo after a port facility that carries crude from the ships to the plants broke down.

In a bourse filing today, Petron said the temporary inability to process crude oil at its refinery will not impact the supply of finished products to the market. It also expects the incident to not have any significant financial impact on the company.

"Petron has taken necessary measures to import more finished products to make up for its marketing needs. The necessary repairs to the single buoy mooring is in the meantime being managed by the operator of the facility. The operator has informed Petron that the single buoy mooring is anticipated to return to normal operations by early November," it added.  

In a separate filing, Hengyuan said its single buoy mooring has sustained damage to an underwater valve, which had resulted in its refinery intake being reduced by half. It also anticipates operations to return to normal by early November.

"The company is currently investigating the causes of the damage, as well as assessing the financial impacts. There has been no environmental impact and relevant government authorities have been informed," it added.

Shares of Petron closed up 7 sen or 1.4% at RM5.06 today with 34,300 shares done, bringing a market capitalisation of RM1.37 billion. Hengyuan shares, meanwhile, ended the day 4 sen or 0.91% lower at RM4.35, with 85,900 shares traded, for a market value of RM1.3 billion.