Des Plaines, ILRefining rates worldwide have been steadily increasing since 1997. Many refiners have pushed existing assets to maximum throughput and utilization. To accommodate additional growth, the refining industry has seen an extensive amount of investment in recent years, especially in the Middle East and Asia. Many of the new refinery and crude expansions are world-scale, in the range of 350 to 600 k-BPSD, and are being constructed at an incredible pace. Several will be realized in less than three years from their start date. In addition to leveraging economies of scale, they utilize state-of-the-art designs, equipment and controls for greater energy efficiency and reduced OPEX. They are highly integrated with both aromatics and petrochemicals productions to maximize value upgrade, and provide greater flexibility to move with the market. However, with projects published in the range of $6 to $12 billion U.S. dollars, these advantages come at a hefty price tag that most U.S refiners are not expected to match.
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