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Released February 23, 2021 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As winter storm Uri fades, remnants of the Arctic blast are still being felt. In Texas, more than 4 million people were left without power in freezing conditions and several refineries and petrochemical facilities were forced to stop operations due to the weather and a lack of power and natural gas. As the temperatures warm, several plants have begun to restart, a process that could take several days. Industrial Info tracked several units that were brought offline at refineries, mostly in Texas, during the storm, and has confirmed that as of Monday afternoon, more than 150 units remained offline or were in the process of restarting.
According to the president of Houston, Texas-based consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, Texas officials have asked natural gas suppliers to prioritize deliveries to residential customers and electric utilities, leaving some refineries in the lurch. According to Reuters, about a fifth of U.S. oil-processing capacity was taken offline because of Texas outages, causing a rise in fuel prices that is expected to last at least through the end of this month.
Freezing temperatures left the Texas Gulf Coast region on Saturday morning, allowing refineries to assess damage and prepare to restart. Industrial Info has tracked several restarts to begin recently at refineries, most of which will last for several days.
"Several refineries continue to assess damage, and the situation for each one is different," said Chris Paschall, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Petroleum Refining Industry. "Some could be restarted relatively soon, while we're seeing others facing more serious delays." Among the refineries Industrial Info is tracking to have started the restart process as of Monday:
Also remaining offline is Marathon Petroleum Corporation's (NYSE:MPC) (Findlay, Ohio) refinery in Galveston Bay, Texas. The company is taking advantage of this outage by accelerating 30 days of planned maintenance on the 140,000-BBL/d FCCU 3 to start Monday, instead of later this month. It is not known whether planned maintenance on other units will be accelerated. It is unknown when the entire plant will be up and running due to pipe damage and resultant leaks that occurred during the severe weather event. See plant profile.
CITGO's (Houston) 165,000-BBL/d Corpus Christi East and West has been down since February 15. The refinery is expected to be back online by the end of next week. See Industrial Info's plant profiles for Corpus Christi East and West.
Chevron Corporation's (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) 100,000-BBL/d refinery in Pasadena, Texas, remains shut and is expected to restart by the upcoming weekend. See plant profile.
Marathon's 56,000-BBL/d El Paso Refinery Northis not expected to be online until the end of next week, due to some pipe breaks. The South section is expected to return online in the middle of next week. See Industrial Info's plant profiles on El Paso North and South.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
According to the president of Houston, Texas-based consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, Texas officials have asked natural gas suppliers to prioritize deliveries to residential customers and electric utilities, leaving some refineries in the lurch. According to Reuters, about a fifth of U.S. oil-processing capacity was taken offline because of Texas outages, causing a rise in fuel prices that is expected to last at least through the end of this month.
Freezing temperatures left the Texas Gulf Coast region on Saturday morning, allowing refineries to assess damage and prepare to restart. Industrial Info has tracked several restarts to begin recently at refineries, most of which will last for several days.
"Several refineries continue to assess damage, and the situation for each one is different," said Chris Paschall, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Petroleum Refining Industry. "Some could be restarted relatively soon, while we're seeing others facing more serious delays." Among the refineries Industrial Info is tracking to have started the restart process as of Monday:
- Valero Energy Corporation's (NYSE:VLO) (San Antonio, Texas) 180,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) refinery in Houston, which was shut down February 15. Plant personnel hope to have the plant back online by Friday, February 26, barring any discovery of further damage caused by the severe weather. See plant profile.
- LyondellBasell Industries NV's (NYSE:LYB) (Houston) 265,000-BBL/d refinery in Houston, which was shut down on February 14. Sources have indicated a gradual restart that may be expected to last until the upcoming weekend. See plant profile.
- Exxon Mobil Corporation's (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) 350,000-BBL/d refinery in Beaumont, Texas, which was shut down February 15. The 120,000-BBL/d FCCU was expected to be restarted Monday, while the rest of the plant is expected to be online by the upcoming weekend. See plant profile.
- Valero's refinery in Texas City, Texas, which was shut down February 16. The restart is expected to last until the upcoming weekend. See plant profile.
- Motiva Enterprises' 600,000-BBL/d refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, which went into hot oil circulation on February 15. A few units at the refinery, including a heavy gas oil hydrotreater, were shut down February 9 for a planned 30-day turnaround. It is not known at this time if the maintenance event will be extended due to the severe weather event. See plant profile.
- Valero's 135,000-BBL/d refinery in Meraux, Louisiana, is expected to be online by the end of this week. See plant profile.
Also remaining offline is Marathon Petroleum Corporation's (NYSE:MPC) (Findlay, Ohio) refinery in Galveston Bay, Texas. The company is taking advantage of this outage by accelerating 30 days of planned maintenance on the 140,000-BBL/d FCCU 3 to start Monday, instead of later this month. It is not known whether planned maintenance on other units will be accelerated. It is unknown when the entire plant will be up and running due to pipe damage and resultant leaks that occurred during the severe weather event. See plant profile.
CITGO's (Houston) 165,000-BBL/d Corpus Christi East and West has been down since February 15. The refinery is expected to be back online by the end of next week. See Industrial Info's plant profiles for Corpus Christi East and West.
Chevron Corporation's (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) 100,000-BBL/d refinery in Pasadena, Texas, remains shut and is expected to restart by the upcoming weekend. See plant profile.
Marathon's 56,000-BBL/d El Paso Refinery Northis not expected to be online until the end of next week, due to some pipe breaks. The South section is expected to return online in the middle of next week. See Industrial Info's plant profiles on El Paso North and South.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
