Motiva to restart expanded Port Arthur refinery
By BEN LEFEBVRE
Motiva Enterprises will restart its 325,000-bpd refinery expansion in Port Arthur, Texas, as early as next week after repairing a unit that broke down days after its June start-up, a source familiar with the plant said Wednesday.
The restart brings a major fuel supply source back to the Gulf Coast, where gasoline and diesel exports to Latin American and Europe are growing.
Motiva, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Arabian Oil Co., opened the $10 billion expansion in late May, making the combined 600,000-bpd refinery the largest in the US before a chemical accident forced the closure of its main crude distillation unit.
Workers were being called back to the expansion plant, which would likely start operations next week, the source said. Motiva had last said that it would restart the refinery expansion in early 2013.
A Motiva spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
The refinery was built to process heavy sour crudes, possibly from Canada, as well as light, sweet oil that could be transported from west and south Texas.
Dow Jones Newswires
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