Motiva Enterprises To Expand Refinery
- Pipeline
- Saudi Aramco News
- Industry News
Author: Aramco ExPats
Released 11 June 2006
Motiva Enterprises, a Houston-based joint operation between Saudi Refining Inc. and Shell Oil Co., said it plans to more than double the capacity of its Port Arthur oil refiner. This expansion would put it among the largest in a North American refining market that is clamoring for supplies.
Motiva said that work will start next year to boost capacity from 275,000 to 600,000 barrels per day. The expansion is expected to be completed by 2010 although the company did not disclose financial details.
"We are confident the market fundamentals will support an expansion of our U.S. refining capacity," Motiva President and Chief Executive Officer William B. Welte said.
Nationally, the number of refineries dropped from 324 in 1981 to its current level of 148, according to the Energy Department. Production is about one million barrels a day less since then. Refineries, however, are producing about 92 percent of their annual capacity, compared to 68 percent 25 years ago. This is why building new refineries is not practical nor is it feasible, industry executives said. So oil and gas companies prefer to boost supplies through expansion.
Expanding these facilities can take up to four years, but constructing a new refinery can take up to 10 years, said Charlie Drevna, vice president for the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. "Expansions like these will meet demand more quickly and more effectively than building a new refinery," Drevna said.