Freeport LNG, Shell, Valero: Your Daily Energy News

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Energy Market highlights gathered by Industrial Info and IIR Energy

LNG
Freeport LNG Seeks Approval to Restart Loading at Texas LNG Plant - Freeport LNG (Houston, Texas), the second biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, sought approval from federal regulators to start loading LNG onto ships at its idled export plant in Texas, according to a filing made available on Thursday.

The Freeport plant shut in a fire in June and was barred from restarting until federal regulators completed an extensive safety review and approved resulting changes.

Freeport, which asked regulators for a response by February 3, also said loading LNG onto ships will "create inventory space within (storage) tanks 1 and 2 in anticipation of obtaining agency authorization for commercial operation of" one of the plant's three liquefaction trains. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Freeport's request to start producing LNG in the third liquefaction train on Wednesday.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Plant Database can click here for the plant profile. (Reuters)

REFINING
U.S. Refiners Throttle Back Q1 Output - U.S. refiners are dialing back operating runs this quarter after extremely high utilization rates last year, and aim to operate at between 85% and 89% of capacity, according to company outlooks and analysts' estimates. Lower rates will cut supplies of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, helping keep profit margins high during one of the weakest demand periods of the year.

The largest U.S. refiner by capacity, Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) (Findlay, Ohio), said it plans to operate at 88% in the first three months of this year, down from 94% last quarter. Second-largest Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) (San Antonio, Texas) is targeting between 85% and 88%, down from 97% last quarter. (Reuters)

EARNINGS REPORTS
Shell Delivers Record Profit for 2022 - Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England) delivered a record $40 billion profit in 2022, the company reported on Thursday. The annual profit of $39.9 billion far exceeded the previous record of $31 billion in 2008. It was driven by higher oil and gas prices, robust refining margins and a strong trading. (Reuters)

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About IIR Energy
Energy asset information on power plants, oil refineries and natural gas infrastructure is now more important than ever. A unit of Industrial Info Resources, IIR Energy provides infrastructure information on these assets, as well as real-time tracking of planned and unplanned interruptions affecting the commodity-trading community. We are the number one source for information about power plant outages, refinery turnarounds and midstream natural gas disruptions.

About Industrial Info
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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).