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Royal Dutch Shell PLC may build additional units at its Pernis refinery in the Netherlands in order to produce cleaner-burning fuels, The Ottawa Citizen reports.

Shell spokesman Wim van de Wiel is reported to have said in an interview yesterday that the company may build a new hydro-desulfurization unit together with an accompanying sulphur-recovery plant, but a final decision about whether to invest in the project has not yet been made. If the project were to go ahead, the new unit would be the sixth to be built at the complex.

The 416,000 barrel-per-day Pernis refinery is Europe's largest, producing a variety of fuels including marine fuel, gasoil, jet fuel, gasoline and diesel.

The plant provides a ready source of fuel oil and distillates, which has enabled Shell to hold a powerful influence over the local bunker market, both as a direct supplier and as a source of product to other players.

This latest development regarding Shell's expansion plans at Pernis follows news in May that the company was considering spending US$1.5 billion on building additional terminals, pipelines and blending facilities at the refinery in order to be able to produce a larger variety of fuels for exporting abroad.