Shell has cut output at its refinery in Germany’s Rhineland, Germany’s largest oil processing plant, on the banks of the Rhine , due to low water levels on the Rhine. Shell did not specify specific production cuts, and the refinery can process up to 17 million tonnes of crude oil a year (or 345,000 barrels per day).
Low water levels are currently hindering the supply of diesel and heating oil from the port of Rotterdam to warehouses and customers along the Rhine. Shell said it was not only the Rhine region that had high demand for heating oil, and the supply situation was challenging but well managed.
Low water levels on the Rhine have been in the spotlight in recent days, with a technical failure of a vessel on Wednesday blocking traffic on the stretch of the Rhine between St. Goar and Oberwesel, but reopening on Thursday to allow cargo ships to pass through . The Kaub section of the Rhine near Koblenz stood at 34 centimeters as of Thursday, still near its lowest point in 2018, and boats need about 1.5 meters to sail fully loaded.
In 2018, the water level of the Rhine River once fell to an all-time low of 25 centimeters, causing a “historic interruption of navigation”. The waterway was closed for about 132 days, leading to higher electricity prices in Germany and heavy damage to the German industry. Shell’s largest oil refinery in Germany was also hit hard. blow. Germany relies on IWT for 31% of its oil and coal, and the Rhine carries 80% of IWT.
The water level in the Kaub section of the Rhine is now lower than at the same time in 2018, and the low water level is likely to last longer, because this year’s drought is more severe than in 2018.
The good news is that water levels on the Rhine will temporarily rise this weekend . Water levels in the Kaub Reach are expected to rise to 67cm on August 22. The Rhine Shipping Authority (WSA) said in a statement that water levels across the Rhine sector will rise again in the next few days, thanks to replenishment of precipitation.