Today's Refining Hotline Headlines

North America
ExxonMobil continues with repairs on the 70,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Hydrodesulfurization Unit (HDU) 1 (Fuels West Reformer Feed HT) at its 557,000-BBL/d refinery in Baytown, Texas. A fire in the unit on December 23 caused damages to its tower and multiple exchangers, and replacements and repairs are expected to take approximately six months. The unit outage has reduced the refinery's capacity, but the specific amount has not been confirmed.

International
Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has rescheduled a 33-day planned maintenance shutdown of the 190,000-BBL/d Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) 2 (Unit 11) and 42,000-BBL/d Atmospheric Residue Desulfurization (ARDS) 2 (Unit 12 - Train 2) at its 454,000-BBL/d Mina Abdulla Refinery in Kuwait. The shutdown is expected to begin February 5, with the restart by March 9.

Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has rescheduled a 40-day planned maintenance shutdown of the 33,000-BBL/d ARDS Unit 3, 33,000-BBL/d ARDS Unit 4 and 70,000-BBL/d New Gas Oil Desulfurization Unit at its 346,000-BBL/d Mina Al Ahmadi Refinery in Kuwait. The shutdown now is expected to begin January 30, with the restart by March 10. Separately, a 31-day shutdown of the 40,000-BBL/d Hydrocracker Unit and 77,000-BBL/d Vacuum Rerun Unit 1 now will begin February 2, with the restart by March 4.

Cepsa is on schedule to perform a major 40-day turnaround of the 117,000-BBL/d Crude 1 Unit and the Lubricant (Lubrisur) and Guadarranque areas at its 247,000-BBL/d Gibraltar Refinery in Spain, beginning in February.

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.