RefineRy opeRationS Update

摘要

Extreme cold weather has knocked out about 36pc of the refning capacity in the US Gulf coast, or 20pc of the US total, the US Department of Energy reported. Argus calculates that shutdowns and curtailments have topped 4mn b/d. ExxonMo- bil has shut more than 922,000 b/d of Texas refning capac- ity in Beaumont and Baytown. Saudi Aramco-owned Motiva, operator of the single largest US refning complex, shut its 600,000 b/d Port Arthur facility. LyondellBasell reported an unexpected power loss at its 268,000 b/d refnery in Houston. All 747,000 b/d of refning capacity around Corpus Christi, Texas, reported power disruptions. And Shell reported re- ducing rates at its 225,000 b/d refnery in Norco, Louisiana. Refners demand natural gas for hydrogen and nitrogen in low-sulphur fuel production, for heat and for power. Valero and Marathon Petroleum cited a loss of third-party supplies of such feedstocks.