Mid September: Americas downstream update
Brazil
The Chief Executive of Petrobras has said that PDVSA has until November to decide if it will participate in the Abreu e Lima refinery, Brazil. PDVSA has the rights to a 40% stake in the refinery.
California
After smoke and fumes were not detected at the Chevron Richmond refinery, the Bay Area Pollution board has announced plans to increase the number of air monitors near oil refineries in the area. The monitors will be able to pick up routine pollution as well as toxic and unplanned releases during accidents and emergencies.
Kentucky
The idled Somerset refinery will recommence operations after it was bought by a New York entrepreneur. The facility was taken offline after a series of management disputes and eventual bankruptcy.
Texas
The Gregg County refinery, which was originally located in Longview, is to be rehabilitated in a new location: New London, Rusk County. Recommissioning of the refinery will create 400 jobs in the area, 100 of which will be permanent. Once up and running the facility will have a processing capacity of 30 000 bpd.
ExxonMobil’s Baytown refinery has reported a leak in a heat exchanger tube. This leak is causing inadvertent emissions of large amounts of pollutants. ExxonMobil reported the leak to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Utah
Tesoro has received approval from the Utah Division of Air Quality to update and expand the Salt Lake City refinery. The US$ 180 million investment will result in the plant increasing its processing capacity by 4000 bpd to 62 000 bpd. The modifications will allow the facility to process black wax and yellow wax oils from the Uinta Basin.
Venezuela
After the explosion on 25th August at the Amuay refinery, PDVSA has now restarted the catalytic cracker. The flexicoker has also been restarted and the plant is now running at a processing capacity of 330 000 bpd.
Adapted from press release by Claira Lloyd.
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/14092012/mid_september_americas_news_209/
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