Restart of Cenovus' Wisconsin Refinery on Track

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The long-awaited ramp-up of Cenovus Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:CVE) (Calgary, Alberta) Superior Refinery in Wisconsin remains on track through the first quarter of 2023, company officials said recently.

The refinery, which was shut down following a fire and explosion in 2018, has undergone extensive repairs and upgrades. The work was delayed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility formerly was owned by Husky Energy Incorporated, which was acquired by Cenovus in 2020.

"We're really happy with the progress on the project. We've always been forecasting ramping up through Q1 2023, and we're still on that track," said Keith Chaisson, executive vice president Downstream for Cenovus, during the company's third-quarter 2022 earnings conference call on November 2.

"We're actually in the process of transitioning from construction into commissioning," he continued. "We brought our first set of crude into the tanks of Superior and have floated the roofs at those tanks and filled up our inventory. So we're imminently getting ready to commission the crude unit and start that up. And so (we are) really still on track to ramp up through Q1 2023, as we've been saying for the past several quarters."

The upgrades, valued at $1.2 billion, will bring the refinery's capacity to 49,000 barrels per day (BBL/d). Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Petroleum Refining project and plant databases can click here for the project report and click here for the plant profile.

Meanwhile, the 160,000-BBL/d Toledo Refinery in Ohio remains offline for an undetermined period after a fire struck the facility on September 20, causing two fatalities.

"Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing, but early indications from aerial and drone footage suggests the damage is localized to a small area of the refinery," said Cenovus Chief Executive Officer Alex Pourbaix. "Restricted access to the site has limited the operator's ability to fully assess the damage, but the refinery will remain shut down in a safe state, and we'll provide further updates when we can."

Cenovus announced in August it had reached an agreement with BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England) to acquire the remaining stake in the Toledo Refinery for $300 million, as Cenovus seeks to boost its downstream operations in the U.S. Cenovus already owns 50% of the refinery. The transition will bring Cenovus' total refining capacity to 740,000 BBL/d. Subscribers can click here for a detailed refinery profile.

Cenovus also owns the 175,000-BBL/d Lima Refinery in Ohio.

"Lima operations have shown significant improvement through the year, and our goal is to continue to demonstrate this level of operating capability across our U.S. refining operations as we restart the Superior refinery and take on operatorship of Toledo," Pourbaix said. "Our priority for the U.S. refining business is establishing a solid track record of safe and reliable performance. This is one of the company's greatest opportunities in the near term."

Cenovus reported third-quarter net earnings of C$1.6 billion (US$1.2 billion), up from C$551 million (US$409 million) in third-quarter 2021.

Industrial Info is tracking nearly US$16.5 billion worth of Cenovus projects. Subscribers can click here for a list of project reports and click here for a list of related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).