Oil majors move to prepare refineries for West Texas crude

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle by  Erin Douglas Jan. 29, 2019

The nation’s largest oil companies are moving ahead with billions of dollars in investments as they retool refining strategies along the Gulf Coast to capitalize on the crude they are producing in the booming Permian Basin in West Texas.

Exxon Mobil said Tuesday that it is beginning construction on an expansion that will make its Beaumont plant the largest refinery in the United States while the Reuters news service reported that Chevron Corp. has agreed to buy the Pasadena refinery owned by Brazilian national oil company Petrobras. Both Exxon and Chevron have amassed substantial holdings in the Permian and rank among the biggest producers there.

Gulf Coast refiners, which have long processed heavier, imported crude, are investing to expand or upgrade their refining operations to process the lighter grades of oil from the Permian and other U.S. shale plays. Matthew Blair, head of refiners research at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. said the market for heavy crude was already tight amid declining production in Mexico and Venezuela and is likely to become tighter as recently imposed U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan crude take effect.

Some companies have already expanded their capabilities to process light crude, including the San Antonio refiner Valero Energy. Processing units at Valero’s Corpus Christi and Houston refineries allow the company to run more light crude.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Oil-majors-move-to-prepare-refineries-for-West-13571877.php

[thackney]

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/01/29/exxon-reportedly-to-move-forward-on-major-beaumont.html

...The refinery currently processes 366,000 barrels of crude oil per day and produces 2.8 billion gallons of gasoline a year, according to Exxon’s website. The new unit would bring that to around 616,000, likely ranking Exxon's refinery ahead of Houston-based Motiva Enterprises' refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, currently the largest nationwide. Motiva’s refinery has a capacity of 603,000 oil barrels per calendar day, though it reportedly can process up to 635,000 barrels per day.

The project is expected to create up to 1,850 jobs during construction and between 40 and 60 permanent jobs once the unit is completed, which is expected by 2022, per the release.

“With access to terminals, railways, pipelines and waterways nearby, the Beaumont refinery is strategically positioned to benefit from Permian production growth,” Bryan Milton, president of ExxonMobil Fuels and Lubricants Co., said in the release. “The addition of a third crude unit in Beaumont will enhance the refinery’s competitive position and truly establish it as a leader in the U.S. refining industry.”...

[Idiot]

Houston Chronicle by  Erin Douglas Jan. 29, 2019

The nation’s largest oil companies are moving ahead with billions of dollars in investments as they retool refining strategies along the Gulf Coast to capitalize on the crude they are producing in the booming Permian Basin in West Texas.

Exxon Mobil said Tuesday that it is beginning construction on an expansion that will make its Beaumont plant the largest refinery in the United States while the Reuters news service reported that Chevron Corp. has agreed to buy the Pasadena refinery owned by Brazilian national oil company Petrobras. Both Exxon and Chevron have amassed substantial holdings in the Permian and rank among the biggest producers there.

Gulf Coast refiners, which have long processed heavier, imported crude, are investing to expand or upgrade their refining operations to process the lighter grades of oil from the Permian and other U.S. shale plays. Matthew Blair, head of refiners research at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. said the market for heavy crude was already tight amid declining production in Mexico and Venezuela and is likely to become tighter as recently imposed U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan crude take effect.

Some companies have already expanded their capabilities to process light crude, including the San Antonio refiner Valero Energy. Processing units at Valero’s Corpus Christi and Houston refineries allow the company to run more light crude.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Oil-majors-move-to-prepare-refineries-for-West-13571877.php

Here's hoping West Texas eases back on the production a bit.  They are sure killing us in West Central Texas.