This topic contains 1 reply, has 1 voice, and was last updated by 
-
Posts
-
US Refinery Status: Turnaround Underway At Valero’s Louisiana Plant
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Feb 2, 2010
The following table lists unplanned and planned production outages at U.S. refineries as reported by Dow Jones Newswires. The information is compiled from both official and unofficial refining sources and doesn’t purport to be a comprehensive list.
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) said Monday that planned turnaround maintenance at a crude and coker unit at its St. Charles refinery in Norco, Louisiana, is underway. The entire refinery will be shut for 30 days.
Also on Monday, Valero Energy said that work continues at a hydrocracker unit in the East Plant of its Corpus Christi refinery. The unit was shut in January for 18 days of planned maintenance, the co. said on January 12.
And a coker unit malfunction at Valero’s Port Arthur, Texas, refinery over the weekend had no material impact to production, the company said on Monday.
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) Monday said its refinery in Catlettsburg, Kentucky, continued to operate at reduced rates due to the shutdown, since Wednesday, of the Greenup Locks and Dam in the Ohio River. The plant receives crude oil by pipeline, but moves product out of the refinery via barge.
Shell Oil Co. (RDSA, RDSB) Sunday began the process of restarting several units at its Deer Park, Texas, refinery. The unit, shuttered since January 14 for scheduled maintenance, include a hydroprocessing unit, coker, gas oil hydrotreater, catalytic reformer and a platformer. Emissions associated with the staggered restart are expected to continue until February 17.
A process upset Saturday at an FCCU and wet gas compressor at WRB Refining’s ( COP, ECA) Borger, Texas, refinery resulted in about five and a half hours of flaring. It was not clear whether the event had an impact on production.
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) Saturday depressurized part of delayed coker unit no. 843 for maintenance. Emissions associated with the process lasted for about 24 hours; it is not clear whether the work had an impact on operations.
For more detailed information, search Dow Jones Newswires using the code N/ REF. Operator Refinery Capacity Description Restart (in 000s bbl/day) UNPLANNED CANADA Korean Newfoundland 115.0 Hydrocracker was shut Jan. 7National after a brief fire broke out inCo. the stripper tower. No word on when it will restart, the co. said on Jan. 12. EAST COAST CARIBBEAN GULF COAST Citgo Corpus 163.0 Platformer reactor was shut after Christi,TX a brief fire Dec. 30. No injuries. Co. still assessing damages. Motiva Norco, La. 236.4 Damage assessment underway at n/a the crude unit shut Jan. 22 by a fire caused by a leak at the unit, the Co. said on Jan. 26. Restart estimate not available. Motiva Port Arthur 285.0 Crude oil throughput will soon Jan 28 return to normal rates the co. said on Jan 28; runs were re- duced due shipping delays caused by the closure of the Sabine- Neches Waterway, the co. said on Jan. 26. FCCU went offline Jan. 8 due n/a to a boiler failure; unit in circulation. Shell Deer Park 340.0 Hydrodesulfurization 2 Unit re- Jan 25 TX started Jan. 25 following cata- lyst change and maintenance that began on Jan. 13. Valero Port Arthur 325.0 Part of delayed coker unit no. n/a TX 843 was depressurized for maintenance on Jan. 30. No impact to production. Valero Texas City 245.0 1 of 3 crude units was re- Jan 28 TX started Jan 28; a fire on Dec 24 shut the crude unit and a coker unit. The coker unit was restarted on Dec. 31. WRB Borger, TX 152.0 Process upset occurred on n/aRefining Jan 30 at FCCU and wet gas compressor causing brief period of flaring. Impact on production unclear. MIDWEST ROCKY MOUNTAINS Holly Artesia, 100.0 A fire erupted Jan. 18 at crude early N.M. unit; restart seen in 3 weeks. Feb Marathon Catlettsburg 226.0 Refinery operating at reduced n/a KY rates owing to the closure since Jan 27 of the Ohio River due to damage at the Greenup Locks and Dam.WEST COAST Exxon Torrance 149.5 A brief snag at a hydrocracker n/a CA unit on Jan. 25 cause about 7 hours of flaring. The unit is operating, a person familiar with the plant said. Shell Martinez 155.6 Delayed coker unit caused steam n/a CA and coke dust emissions Jan. 27; cause is unknown. No impact on production. PLANNED CANADA Shell Montreal 130.0 The refinery will be converted Quebec into a fuel terminal, Co. said Jan. 7. No timeline provided. CARIBBEAN Hovensa St. Croix 500.0 150,000 bbl/d FCCU shut early Jan. 20 for turnaround. March Valero Aruba 235.0 The plant, which was shut in June for 2-3 months for economic reasons was closed indefinitely in Nov. EAST COAST Hess Port Month-long turnaround work Reading NJ will take place in April at the plant’s 70,000-b/d FCCU; the refinery does not process crude oil. Sunoco Westville 145.0 Idling all Eagle Point refin- Mid-Nov NJ ing operations indefinitely due to poor economics, Co. said Oct. 6. Reformer unit shut in Girard n/a Point section in early Oct for economic reasons. Shutdown to last 1-6 months. Valero Delaware 210.0 Plant to be permanently shut due City, DE to poor economics, announced Nov. 20. Delaware Official said it would be shut on Nov. 22. The plant’s production units will be dismantled and disposed of in coming months, Co. said Dec. 23. Valero Paulsboro 185.0 Refinery will operate during Dec. 14-21 NJ FCCU work that began on Nov. Nov. 28-29. The entire refinery was scheduled to shut during the work; the Co. also shortened the duration of the FCCU work to 2-3 weeks from 6 on Dec. 3. Conoco Linden, NJ 238.0 The Bayway refinery is undergoing planned maintenance, Co. said Jan.7. No details regarding unit(s) or duration provided. Western Yorktown 64.5 Planned work scheduled 3Q 2010. Va. GULF COAST BP Texas City 455.8 FCCU in restart Jan 29; Jan 29 TX shut Jan 27 for compres- sor repair. Chevron Pascagoula 330.0 Pre-commercial heavy oil 2010 Miss. conversion project delayed from 2008 to 2010 due to economic factors. Conoco Sweeny, TX 247.0 Unit 3 shut to connect an Jan. 18 emission control device (wet gas scrubber), which will not affect refining operations, a Jan. 4 filing stated. Flint Corpus 288.1 $250 mln project for new SpringHills Christi, TX diesel desulfurization, 2010 sulfur recovery unit to begin in Fall 2008. Construction to last 18 months. Marathon Garyville 245.0 Project to increase crude oil LA refining capacity by 180,000- b/d completed on schedule and new units were being integrated, company said Jan. 8. Entire plant reaches full capacity 2Q’10, Co. said previously. Planned turnaround at plant is expected to start and end in Jan. 2010, Co. said Jan. 8. — (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires -
Here is DJ Feb Update on US & Caribb T/A and project status – not sure why the columns didnt stay clear on this post? Lots of activity around planned & unplanned T/A coker units – lot plants idled/shut for extended periods/closed with undefinite timeline or up for sale.
Economics around refining are still bad and to quote friend mine “ Earnings season is sucking sewer water again. “
Reliance 2nd refining unit (combined plants are still largest refinery & coking unit in world) was set up for export & has cargoes of jet/diesel/gasoline probably steaming to US to take advantage of shutdowns but demand is still low and all new expansions globally are likely trigger a war on product placements as they fight to stay up but low product prices and high crude prices wont allow export targeted refineries to lose money on that scale.
Regards
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.