ExxonMobil's Antwerp Refinery Fires Up New Coker Unit

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (ExxonMobil) has commissioned a new unit at its Antwerp refinery in Belgium to convert heavy, higher-sulphur residual oils into high-value transportation fuels such as marine gasoil and diesel.

The delayed coker, which cost roughly $227 million, is the first of several expansion projects designed to strengthen the competitiveness of ExxonMobil's facilities in Europe. The 50,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) coker will expand the refinery's capacity to meet demand for cleaner transportation fuels throughout northwest Europe. It will also help the refinery meet anticipated demand for lower-sulphur fuel oil to comply with International Maritime Organization standards scheduled to take effect in 2020. IMO 2020 will force the marine sector to reduce sulphur emissions by more than 80%.

"Our investment in Antwerp strengthens ExxonMobil's competitiveness and position as a leading European refiner by expanding the refinery's product slate and increasing our ability to deliver larger quantities of cleaner, higher-value fuels to European customers," said Bryan W. Milton, president of ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants Company. "The $2 billion we have invested in our Antwerp refinery over the last decade has made the facility one of the most modern and efficient in the world." The Antwerp refinery has a production capacity of approximately 320,000 BBL/d and has been in operation since 1953.

The company has completed other projects at the site including the construction of a 130-megawatt (MW) cogeneration power plant to reduce CO2 emissions and a diesel hydrotreater, which has increased the refinery's production capacity for low-sulphur diesel.

Earlier this year Industrial Info reported that ExxonMobil had set aside $24 billion for capital expenditures in 2018 and planned to increase that to an average of $30 billion during 2023 to 2025. Industrial Info is tracking nearly $44 billion in active ExxonMobil projects. For additional information, see March 8, 2018, article - ExxonMobil Expects to Double Earnings by 2025 as it Pours More into Capex.

In September, ExxonMobil confirmed that it will invest up to £500 million ($660 million) at the U.K.'s largest refinery in Fawley. For additional information, see September 24, 2018, article - ExxonMobil Plans £500 Million Spend at U.K. Refinery.

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