Lyondell restarts Houston refinery's gasoline unit
Lyondell Basell Industries has restarted the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker unit (FCCU) at its 263,776-bpd Houston, Texas (U.S.) refinery on Thursday, said people familiar with plant operations.
Lyondell plans to begin introducing gasoil into the 110,000-bpd FCCU in the next step to resume production on the unit, the sources said.
The FCCU was shut by an Aug. 29 fire on the unit. Failure to restore the FCCU's production could lead Lyondell to permanently shut the refinery this year instead of at the end of March 2025, as currently scheduled.
Chemical maker Lyondell said shutting the refinery allows it to get out of a generally unprofitable business that is not central to its mission.
The FCCU uses a fine powder catalyst to convert gasoil into unfinished gasoline.
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