Today's Refining Hotline Headlines

North America
Phillips 66 was forced to halt the restart of the 150,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Fluid Catalytic Cracker Unit (FCCU) at its 230,000-BBL/d Bayway Refinery in Linden, New Jersey, after a leak was discovered. The unit was shut down on January 31. The restart now is expected to begin by the end of this weekend.

Pemex TRI's 270,000-BBL/d refinery in Cadereyta, Mexico, continues to run at lower rates. The 120,000-BBL/d Combinada 1 (Crude 1) has been offline since early January due to high reserves of Diesel UBA (ultra-low-sulfur diesel), while the 150,000-BBL/d Combinada 2 (Crude 2) is online and running at 110,000 BBL/d. The 65,000-BBL/d FCCU 1 is running at 40,000 BBL/d, and the 25,000-BBL/d FCCU 2 is offline due to a lack of feedstock. The remaining processing units are being kept at approximately 55% of normal capacity.

International
Petrobras, on January 15, began a 30-day planned maintenance turnaround of the 47,100-BBL/d U-1250 FCCU, 25,000-BBL/d Cracked Naphtha HDS U-4500 and 31,450-BBL/d Delayed Coker U-100 units at its 242,000-BBL/d Reduc Refinery in Brazil. The remaining units are currently processing at 85% capacity due to the company's market strategy.

Total Refining & Chemicals continues with a plant-wide shutdown of its 230,000-BBL/d Donges Refinery in France that began on December 1, 2020, due to low demand as a result of COVID-19. The units are expected to restart in a staggered manner by the end of March.

Axion Energy, on February 2, began shutdown procedures for a plant-wide maintenance turnaround at its 95,000-BBL/d Campana Refinery in Argentina. The works are estimated to last 40 to 50 days.

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.