The following table lists unplanned and planned production
outages at U.S. refineries as reported by Dow Jones Newswire's. The
information is compiled from both official and unofficial refining
sources and doesn't purport to be a comprehensive list.
Equipment within a unit called 812 was shutdown beginning
mid-afternoon on Sept. 12, at Total PetroChemicals & Refining
USA's 232,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Port Arthur, Texas,
according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The
unit was restarted and the flaring incident lasted for just under
two hours.
The problem ridden 67,000 barrel-a-day Big Spring, Texas,
refinery owned and operated by Alon USA was running it's fluid
catalytic cracker at reduced rates on Sept. 13, as a result of
necessary maintenance work on a wet gas compressor, according to
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Flaring was evident
for five hours during the morning.
A hydrotreater at BP's 226,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Cherry
Point, Washington, was upset on Sept. 13, according to traders
doing business with the company. It wasn't known how long the
problem would last.
A coker unit at Marathon Petroleum Corp's 489,000 barrel-a-day
refinery in Garyville, Louisiana was upset the afternoon of Sept.
11, according to the U.S. National Response Center. The nature of
the equipment failure involved a leaky flange, the NRC said
A flexicoker was taken out of service on Sept. 11, at
ExxonMobil's 560,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Baytown, Texas, due
to a heat exchanger tube leak, according to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality. The event caused the release of excessive
emissions and the event is expected to last until Sept. 16.
A flaring event took place the afternoon of Sept 11, at the
239,000 barrel-a-day refinery owned and operated by ExxonMobil in
Joliet, Illinois, due to an undefined equipment failure, according
to traders doing business with the company
A brief flaring event took place on Sept. 10, at the 284,000
barrel-a-day refinery owned and operated by Flint hills Resources
in Corpus Christi, Texas, according to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality. The flaring was in conjunction with a
scheduled coker unit outage and the cause is being
investigated.
An ultracracker at BP's 407,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Texas
City, Texas, was put into restart mode on Sept 9, according to
traders doing business with the company. BP confirmed the
restart.
An unplanned flaring event took place on Sept. 10, at Phillips
66 120,000 barrel-a-day Rodeo, Calif., refinery, according to the
California Emergency Management Agency. It wasn't know which units
were affected.
A planned flaring event will take place at BP's 266,000
barrel-a-day Carson, Calif., refinery beginning Sept. 10 through
Sept. 14, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management
District. It wasn't known which refining units would be affected
and BP was unavailable for comment.
A fluid catalytic cracker at Pasadena Refining Systems, Inc.
100,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Pasadena, Texas, was upset the
evening of Sept. 6, and a flaring even occurred, according to the
Texas Commission On Environmental Quality. The unit has been
brought back to normal operations, according to the Commission.
A fluid catalytic cracker and alkylation unit at Sunoco's
335,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Philadelphia, PA, experienced
mechanical problems on Sept. 4, and both units were taken out of
service, according to traders doing business with the company. No
timetable was given for restarting the units.
Delta Airlines (DAL) said Sept. 6 that the 185,000 barrel-a-day
Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania will be operational by the end of
September.
BP PLC (BP) restarted the ultracker at its 400,780 barrel-a-day
refinery in Texas City, according to a government filing Sept. 6.
The company did not say when the unit went out. A company spokesman
did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Phillips 66 (PSX) said Sept. 6 that power was restored to the
Alliance Refinery in Belle Chasse, La. and workers are in the
process of restarting the 247,000 barrel-a-day is in facility
following Hurricane Isaac. The company said it expects the refinery
"will be operating by mid-month."
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) Chief Executive Bill Klesse said work
on a diesel-making unit at the company's St. Charles refinery in
Norco, La., is now likely to be completed in early 2013, rather
than later this year as the company had previously estimated, in
part due to Hurricane Isaac. The unit is still on track to be
operational in the second quarter of 2013.
Both of the refineries Valero Energy Corp (VLO) had shut down
ahead of Isaac are in the process of restarting, company spokesman
Bill Day said. Sept. 5. He said "most production units" are back in
operation at the 205,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Norco and the
125,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Meraux, though some are still
being brought back. The crude unit at the Meraux facility was shut
for repairs prior to the storm, and has not been restarted, he
said.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and Motiva Enterprises said Sept. 5
that their 235,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Convent, La. and their
233,500 barrel-a-day refinery in Norco., La. are restarting after
Isaac and operating at reduced or near-normal rates.
Paramount Petroleum Corp. reported flaring at its 84,500
barrel-a-day Los Angeles County refinery Sept. 4 due to a
compressor failure, according to a filing with pollution
regulators.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) said Tuesday that its refinery in
Chalmette, La., is in the process of restarting after being
temporarily shut in advance of Hurricane Isaac. The 192,500
barrel-a-day refinery is a joint venture between Exxon and
Petroleos de Venezuela. Exxon also said it is working to bring
production back to normal levels at its 502,500 barrel-a-day
refinery in Baton Rouge. The company began running the refinery at
reduced rates as part of its preparation for the storm.
Marathon Petroleum said its 464,000 barrel-a-day Garyville
Refinery has returned to normal operations following Hurricane
Isaac.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) and Motiva Enterprises said Sept. 2
that the Norco, La. refinery is restarting some units while others
are operating at reduced rates. The Convent refinery is in
continues its post-storm startup process, and will operate some
unites at reduced rates while electrical power issues are being
resolved. still dealing with power issues. Convent, La. and Norco,
La. as a precautionary measure part of an established
hurricane-preparation plan. Together the two refineries have a
capacity of 468,000 barrels-of-oil per day. The company did not say
what rates the refineries were operating at.
Tesoro Corp's (TSO) Wilmington, Calif. refinery experienced a
brief power outage but is returning to normal operations, a
spokesman said Sept. 1. The 103,800 barrel-a-day refinery flared
sulfur dioxide due to the outage.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)'s Beaumont, TX refinery is running
normally after flaring due to a line leak, a company spokesman said
Aug. 31.
PBF Energy reported on Aug. 28 flaring at its 190,000
barrel-a-day Delaware City refinery Tuesday, according to a
government filing. The refinery released over 100 pounds of sulfur
dioxide in an "intermittent flaring" episode from an unspecified
unit, according to the filing with the Delaware Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Flint Hills Resources Inc. said in a filing Tuesday that a leak
in its 285,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas is
ongoing and attempts to fix it have not been successful. A vacuum
truck is being used to control the leak.
Chevron Corp. (CVX) reported flaring at its 245,000 barrel-a-day
Richmond, Calif. refinery Aug. 28. A spokesman said Tuesday
morning's flare was in the gasoline-making fluid catalytic cracking
unit and lasted a few minutes.
Total Petrochemicals Inc. reported emissions that occurred while
bringing units online at its Port Arthur refinery, but said in a
filing Monday with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
that the units were stabilized quickly. About 2,354 pounds of
sulfur dioxide were emitted at the 225,500-barrel-a-day refinery
during start-up activities at two units.
PFB Energy said in a filing Aug. 27 that its 182,200
barrel-a-day refinery in Delaware City flared more than 500 pounds
of sulfur dioxide due to a mechanical failure Sunday evening.
Phillips 66 on Aug. 25 reported an unscheduled process unit
shutdown resulted in flaring of sulfur dioxide at its 120,200
barrel-a-day refinery in Rodeo, Calif.
Pasadena Refining Systems Inc. said Aug. 24 that its 100,000
barrel-a-day refinery released 14,000 pounds of particulate matter
from its fluid catalytic cracking unit.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) said Aug. 24 equipment failure would
impact production at its 344,500 barrel-a-day refinery in Beaumont,
Texas, according to a government filing made public Friday.
The company also said Aug. 24 that the crude distillation unit
of the Beaumont refinery was back to normal after an
instrumentation failure resulted in nearly 3,000 pounds of sulfur
dioxide being released on Aug. 23.
A Bloomberg report on Aug. 8 said Chevron's (CVX) fire-struck
Richmond, Calif., refinery is operating at about 60% of capacity
after the Aug. 6 fire that shut only the plant's CDU.
BP-Husky will begin four weeks of scheduled maintenance at an
FCCU and coker unit compressors on Sept. 13, a person familiar with
operations at the plant said on Aug. 7.
For more detailed information, search Dow Jones Newswire using
the code N/REF.
Operator Refinery Capacity Description Restart
(in 000s
bbl/day) UNPLANNED CANADA CARIBBEAN EAST COAST PBF Delaware 190
Refinery reported 100 lbs of sulfur Energy DE dioxide released from
unspecified unit
Aug. 28
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Mechanical failure caused sulfur
dioxide emissions Aug. 27. Sunoco Phila. PA 330.0 Alkylation Unit 869 resumed
service on Aug 9; it was placed
on circulation mode on Aug 3
for compressor repair. GULF COAST Borger Borger, TX 146.0
Refinery reports upset at un-
specified unit(s); filing lists
Areas C and D of the plant as
sources of emissions. BP PLC Texas City TX 400 Restarted
Ultracracker Sept. 6 Flint Hills Corpus 285.0 Refinery reported
ongoing leak being Resources Christi controlled with vacuum
truck.
TX Motiva Convent, LA 235 Shell and Motiva said the refineries
Norco, LA 233.5 are restarting and running at reduced
or near normal rates after Isaac.
Port Arthur 600.0 Newly commissioned 325,000-b/d Early
TX CDU was shut by a small fire 2013
over the Jun 9-10 weekend. Re-
start seen in early 2013; lengthy
repairs needed to correct cor-
rosive issue at new equipment. Pasadena Pasadena, TX 100.00
Flaring of off-spec product re- Refining ported to regulators on
Aug. 10.
Flaring of particulate matter re-
ported to regulators on Aug. 24 Phillips Rodeo, Calif. 120.2
Flaring of sulfur dioxide reported 66 Aug. 25 due to unscheduled
process unit
shutdown.
Belle Chasse, 247.0 Said Sept. 6 that power is back on
LA and the refinery is restarting. The company
expects the refinery to be operating by mid-
Sept. Total Port Arthur, 225.5 Sulfur Dioxide emitted while bringing units online
TX company said in Aug. 27 filing. Company said units
were stabilized quickly. Valero Norco, LA 270.0
Meraux, LA 125.0 Company said Sept. 5 that both refineries have
restarted, though are not yet back to planned rates. The Meraux
crude
unit, which was down for repair before Isaac, has not been
brought back. Exxon Chalmette, LA 192.5 Exxon said Sept. 4 that
it is in the process of restarting
the refinery after Isaac.
Baton Rouge, LA 502.5 Exxon said Sept. 4 that it is working to
bring production
back to normal levels after Isaac. MIDWEST Citgo Lemont, IL
167.0 FCCU shut Jul 28 for unplanned Aug 8
repair in Tulsa East Plant is in
restart mode, an Aug 8 filing to
regulators said.
Refinery operations are being
affected by Enbridge crude oil
pipeline shutdown since July 27,
the Co. said on July 30. Holly Tulsa, OK 125.0 Repair to diesel hydrotreater
shut by a fire on Aug 2 will
take 6-8 weeks, the co. said
on Aug 8. ROCKIES WEST COAST Valero Benicia, CA 170.0 FCCU shut
on July 26 for un- Mid- Energy planned compressor repairs be-
Aug.
gan the process of restarting
on Aug. 6. Planned rate expected
by mid-August, the Co. said. Chevron Richmond, 245.0 The company
reported brief flaring in the
CA FCC unit Aug. 28.
An Aug 8 Bloomberg report said
the refinery is operating at 60%
of capacity.
CDU No. 4 is shut after Aug 6
fire. Most other process units
continue to operate, the co.
said on Aug 8, but the amount of
fuel being produced is unclear.
Compressor failure at unspe-
cified unit resulted in flaring
on Aug 1; a filing said. No
other details were provided in
a filing to regulators. Paramount Paramount, 84.5 Sulfur Dioxide
and smoke flared due Petroleum CA to compressor failure Sept. 4
Tesoro Wilmington, 104.0 Refinery is returning to normal after
a
CA brief power outage, a spokesman said Sept. 1 PLANNED CANADA
Husky Saskatchewan Major turnaround to take place Spring Refinery
in spring of 2013. Plant-wide 2013
shutdown for inspection and
equipment repairs. CARIBBEAN Valero Aruba Refinery still up for sale, the
Co. said on July 31, 2012. EAST COAST Monroe Trainer, PA 185.0
Delta Airlines subsidiary buys Sept. Energy refinery in April, says
refinery 2012
will restart by end of Sept. Sunoco Philadelphia 335.0 Energy
Partners buys Sunoco Inc.; 4Q
PA deal to close 4Q 2012. 2012 Sunoco Marcus Hook 190.0 Marcus
Hook shut Dec. 1 ahead of
schedule due to poor refining
economics. GULF COAST Valero Houston, TX 160.0 Eight weeks of
maintenance set Oct/Nov
to begin in Sept. 2012 at FCCU. 2012 Valero McKee TX 170.0
Expansion project announced
March 2011 to increase crude oil
throughput by 25,000 b/d to
195,000 b/d. Valero Norco, LA 185.0 Hydrocracker project will 2013
completed in 2013 Q1 and be
operational in 2013 Q2, CEO
said Sept. 6.
Upgrade project to build 2012
a new diesel hydrotreater
unit moved from 2010 to
4Q 2012. Valero Port Arthur 325.0 Hydrocracker project will pro- Late
TX ceed and be completed in late 2012
2012. MIDWEST BP Whiting, IN 336.0 Largest of 3 CDUs will shut in 2nd-
4Q 2012 for expansion project, Half
the Co. said July 31. Project 2013
completion set 2nd-half 3013. BP/Husky Toledo, OH 160.0 4 weeks
of maintenance will Oct 11
begin at FCCU and coker com-
pressors on Sep 13, a person
familiar with the plant said
on Aug 7. CVR Wynnewood 54.0 30-40 days maintenance planned Q3
OK in 3rd Q 2013, the co. said on 2013
Nov. 3, 2011. Holly Tulsa, OK 125.0 The entire refinery will be
shut Late Frontier while West Plant section under- 2012
goes major turnaround maintenance
in late 2012, the Co. said on
Aug. 5, 2011. Husky Lima, OH 160.0 30-day maintenance will begin
Sept Energy in Sept. the Co. said on July 24. 2012
Scope of work not disclosed.
15-day maintenance planned at 4Q
diesel hydrotreater; 29-days at 2012
aromatics unit, set for 4Q 2012,
the Co. said on Feb 9.
New 20,000-b/d kerosene hydro- 1stH
treater will start up in 1st 2013
half 2013, to co. said on Feb 9,
2012.
45-days of major turnaround
scheduled in 2014; 70% of units
involved. Remaining 30% will under
go major turnaround in 2015, the
co. said on Feb 9, 2012. Tesoro Mandan, ND 58.0 Total crude-oil
processing capa- 2nd Q
city to increase by 17% to 2012
68,000-b/d by 2nd quarter 2012. ROCKIES WEST COAST BP PLC
Carson, CA 265.0 Planned flaring event will Aug 20
start on Aug. 4 through Aug. 20,
the co. said in a filing on Aug.
2. The event isn't due to equip-
ment breakdown.
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