Page 11 - NorthAmOil Week 02 2023
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NorthAmOil                            PROJECTS & COMPANIES                                       NorthAmOil















































       Largest US refinery returns to operations





        MIDDLE EAST      THE US’ largest refinery, Motiva Enterprises’   The plants knocked offline typically process
                         plant in Port Arthur, Texas, has returned to pro-  a combined 3.58mn bpd of oil, delivering about
                         duction, sources told Reuters on January 6.  20% of US motor fuels, said the news service.
                           The 626,000 barrel per day (bpd) plant, on the  Nationwide gasoline prices seemed to be unaf-
                         Gulf Coast, was closed on December 23 because  fected, though there were some local rises.
                         of a cold snap from Winter Storm Elliott. Tem-  Emergency shut-downs can result in
                         peratures fell as low as minus 8 Celsius.  increased pollution. The cold snap that froze   Motiva began
                           Motiva began restarting the refinery on  Texas late last month led to the release of over
                         December 25 and had said that bringing the  1,000 tonnes of excess pollutants into the   restarting the
                         plant back online fully could take until Jan-  atmosphere, said advocacy group Environ-
                         uary 11, according to a notice filed with the  ment Texas.                   refinery on
                         Texas Commission on Environmental Quality   The emissions included gases such as carbon
                         (TCEQ).                              monoxide, butanes and sulphur dioxide. The   December 25
                           The refinery processes 275,000 bpd into con-  gases exceeded norms by about 1,089 tonnes   and had said that
                         ventional gasoline, commercial aviation fuel,  from December 21 to December 26, the group
                         ultra-low sulphur diesel, export (high cetane)  said.                    bringing the plant
                         diesel, and Texas low emissions diesel. The refin-  Nearly 20% of that came from Saudi Aramco’s
                         ery is the world’s largest single producer of petro-  Port Arthur refinery.  back online fully
                         leum coke, as well as speciality products that   Refineries in other areas of the US have also
                         include liquid petroleum gas (LPG), petrochem-  been hit hard by winter weather. Suncor Energy   could take until
                         ical feeds and sulphur. The complex also houses  closed Colorado’s only refinery, in Commerce   January 11.
                         one of the largest base oil operations globally,  City, and has said that it will not open the plant
                         with a production capacity of 40,000 bpd.  again until March.
                           About a dozen refineries were knocked   Extreme cold weather was also to blame in
                         offline by bad weather in late December. Low  this instance. There was extensive damage at the
                         temperatures froze some instruments, over-  facility, which usually processes 98,000 bpd of
                         whelming steam and co-generation units at sev-  oil. On December 21 the temperature dropped
                         eral facilities, sources familiar with the matter  from 6 Celsius to minus 15 Celsius within one
                         told Reuters.                        hour at Denver International Airport.™



       Week 02   12•January•2023                www. NEWSBASE .com                                             P11
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