Total S.A. Plans Upgrades Across U.S. Chemical, Refining Facilities for Heavier Volumes

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The North American subsidiaries of Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France) are preparing to strengthen capacities and increase efficiency with a series of upgrades, enhancements and additions at various facilities, partly in response to booming oil and gas production in areas such as the Permian Basin and Bakken Shale. Industrial Info is tracking more than $6 billion in active projects involving Total in the U.S. and Canada, with more than half of the project count found in the Petroleum Refining and Chemical Processing industries.

Click on the image at right for a map of active capital-spending projects at Total facilities in the U.S. and Canada.

Half of Total's U.S.-based projects can be found at its BASF Total Petrochemicals facility in Port Arthur, Texas, which is a joint venture between subsidiary Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, which owns 40%, and BASF Corporation (Ludwigshafen, Germany), which owns 60% and is the largest chemical producer worldwide. The chemical side began a $100 million revamp of its condensate splitter, which has a capacity of 75,000 barrels per day (BBL/d), in April so it can process a wider variety of condensates. The facility also is planning upgrades to its ethylene unit. For more information see Industrial Info's reports on the condensate splitter and ethylene unit.

Total's Port Arthur Refinery is at work on one major upgrade: An estimated $30 million in enhancements to the control systems for refinery areas 2 and 3, which are being staggered in over a period of six years, having started in 2015. Two proposed projects are in their earliest phases, where plenty of factors could change, delay or eliminate investment: an estimated $100 million delayed coker upgrade, which involves replacing four outdated coke drums at the 60,000-BBL/d unit, and a $15 million fluid catalytic cracker unit (FCCU) upgrade, which aims to improve gasoline yields at the 76,000-BBL/d unit. For more information see Industrial Info's reports on the control systems, delayed coker and FCCU.

Total also is in its nascent planning stages for generator replacements at its polystyrene plant in Carville, Louisiana. As currently proposed, the two-phase, five-year plan would replace four substations that are nearing the end of their operational lives. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on Phase I and Phase II.

In addition to the above-mentioned capital projects, Industrial Info is tracking more than $166 million worth of maintenance projects in the U.S. and Canada involving Total, two of which are set to kick off before the end of the year: Cogeneration Unit 2 at the Port Arthur complex, which generates 40 megawatts (MW), and trains 5 and 6 at its polypropylene resins plant in Deer Park, Texas. Both projects are expected to wrap up toward the middle of October. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the cogeneration and polypropylene resins projects.

But the biggest recent news to feature Total was not about one of its own projects. Tellurian Incorporated (NASDAQ:TELL) (Houston, Texas) announced earlier this month that Total had agreed to purchase 1 million tonnes per year of LNG from Tellurian's proposed Driftwood LNG project in Louisiana. Total also agreed to invest $500 million in Driftwood Holdings LP. For more on this project, including key approvals earlier this summer from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), see Industrial Info's project report and May 23, 2019, article - Tellurian Locks in Key Approvals, Support for Driftwood LNG Project and Major Gas Pipelines.

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