Page 16 - MEOG Week 24

MEOG nr G MEOG

ExxonMobil is
reportedly delaying the
start-up of its Beaumont
refinery expansion by
a year, because of the
COVID-19 crisis.

Mixed fortunes for US mega-projects complete, was now expected to enter service in
Some good news came for two major US pipe- early 2021.
line projects this week, even as the oil and gas On the Gulf Coast, meanwhile, ExxonMobil
industry continues to be affected by the mar- is reportedly delaying the start-up of its Beau-
ket downturn and a major Gulf Coast refining mont refinery expansion by a year as it grapples
expansion delay has also been reported. with depressed demand as a result of the coro-
On June 15, the US Supreme Court upheld navirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Citing sources
a permit for Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported
pipeline, ruling that the Forest Service had that the project was now anticipated to start up
acted lawfully in allowing the project to cross in 2023 instead of 2022.
under the Appalachian Trail. A lower court The expansion will make Beaumont one of
ruling had been holding up construction on the largest two refineries in the US, along with
the pipeline. Motiva Enterprises’ plant in Port Arthur, Texas.
The ruling was considered to be the main It entails adding a crude distillation unit (CDU)
obstacle for the $8bn pipeline, which will have with a capacity of 250,000 bpd, lifting the Beau-
the capacity to carry 1.5bn cubic feet (42.5mn mont refinery’s overall capacity to 619,000 bpd.
cubic metres) per day of gas from the Marcellus ExxonMobil had been planning the expan-
shale to North Carolina and West Virginia. sion to help accommodate its growing crude
And the ruling is also good news for the production in the Permian Basin. however, the
Mountain Valley pipeline, with operator EQM super-major scaled back its Permian drilling
Midstream Partners also hoping to route the plans dramatically this year as the downturn
project across the Appalachian Trail and some took hold.
bodies of water regulated by the US Fish and
Wildlife Service. If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
Indeed, EQM announced last week that the the North American oil and gas sector then please click
Mountain Valley pipeline, which is around 92% here for NewsBase’s NorthAmOil Monitor.™

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 24 17•June•2020