Hovensa Reduces Long-Term Costs Through Capacity Cuts

摘要

BMI View: Hovensa's decision to cut capacity and pay US$700mn to improve pollution controls will mean a large one-off charge, but should help it cut costs in the long run. Hovensa, operator of the only refnery in the US Virgin Islands, has said it will cut around 150,000b/d of crude distillation capacity to reduce long-term costs and improve effciency at the plant. The move follows a run of poor fnancial results from Hovensa, a joint venture (JV) of US independent Hess and state-run Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), which weighed heavily on Hess' proftability in 2010.