HOUSTON -- Motiva Enterprises LLC, the U.S. joint venture owned by Shell Oil Co. and Saudi Refining Inc., said it is considering a capital investment strategy to increase refining capacity at one or more of its petroleum product refineries.
It is considering several options to increase production of transportation fuels at Motiva's Gulf Coast network of refineries. Expansion projects the company is considering range from 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 325,000 bpd. Key factors under consideration by Motiva for a proposed refinery expansion include the [image-nocss] overall cost to design, engineer, build and operate new processing units, as well as favorable indicators of future crude supply and related costs.
Demand for transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel in the United States is growing at a rate that exceeds current and projected domestic refining capacity, said William B. Welte, Motiva president and CEO. Our Gulf Coast refineries are strategically located to serve this current and future demand. All three Motiva refineries have ready access to waterborne crude oil and major product pipelines, and are viable candidates for a refinery expansion.
Motiva's refineries are located in Port Arthur, Texas; Convent, La.; and Norco, La.
Motiva will commence with preliminary process engineering work to evaluate expansion possibilities for increasing capacity at these refineries. Capital projects of the size and scope being considered for increasing production capacity generally occur in three stages including project scoping, process design and engineering and finally facility construction.
It expects to make a decision to move forward on a preferred expansion project and location early next year.
Motiva Enterprises LLC owns and operates refineries capable of refining approximately 780,000 bpd, a distribution system including ownership interests in 47 product terminals and a marketing network that supports more than 9,000 branded gas stations in the eastern and southern United States.
Meanwhile, the Port Arthur Refinery began a safe and orderly shutdown on Thursday morning in anticipation of the effects of Hurricane Rita, the company said. Motiva said it will maintain essential personnel on site to ensure around-the-clock safety and security, as well as to provide hurricane impact assessment and restart support. It could not confirm a schedule for resuming operations and production.
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