The big freeze from the arctic blast knocked out more than 18 of the Texas refineries just a month ago. For these refineries it has been a battle to repair and restart. 16 of those 18 plants shut by freeze have started some or all units. In that time demand has risen and already some are able to run at full rates on better margins.
The big freeze from the arctic blast knocked out more than 18 of the Texas refineries just a month ago. For these refineries it has been a battle to repair and restart. 16 of those 18 plants shut by freeze have started some or all units. In that time demand has risen and already some are able to run at full rates on better margins.
Around 2.24 million barrels of capacity are back online already, and about another 2.9 million barrels are in the process of restarting.
When the Arctic blast knocked out more than 18 of 30 Texas refineries it also took down nearly 5 million barrels a day of crude-processing capacit. With shifts working around the clock all but two sites have restarted all or a significant portion of the production units they need to refine gasoline and diesel again. The forced shutdowns came in after a year of slashing production as deamnd collapsed from the economic shutdowns. Now refineries are in a position where they may ramp back up hard to catch improved margins and increased demand.
The hope for them is demand kicks in as the economy reopens. In two months summer driving season starts but unto that there is opportunity to fill that forced void. The 3-2-1 crack spread, surged above $22 a barrel Friday, This sread is a measure of profit margins on making gasoline, diesel and other refined products relative to crude oil. Total SE’s Port Arthur refinery on the Texas Gulf Coast has nearly completed its restart and may run at full rates by early next week because of market improvements, Bloomebrg reported people familiar with operations said.
As of Friday, the last two refineries that had not restarted any units yet, Shell Deer Park and Chevron Pasadena, were expecting to begin the process over the next several days.
8 Back to normal:
- Marathon El Paso: 131k b/d
- Valero Port Arthur: 335k b/d
- Valero Corpus Christi: 290k b/d
- Exxon Beaumont: 369k b/d
- Valero Houston: 205k b/d
- Valero Texas City: 225k b/d
- Motiva Port Arthur: 607k b/d
- Delek Big Spring: 73k b/d
8 Restarting
- Citgo Corpus Christi: 167.5k b/d. Everything restarted except the coker
- Exxon Baytown: 560.5k b/d. Restarted hydrocracker, Pipestill 7 crude section
- LyondellBasell Houston: 263.8k b/d. Everything up but one CDU and one coker Flint Hills Corpus: 338.5k b/d. Restarted 265k b/d West Plant, 73.5k b/d East Plant start continues
- Total Port Arthur: 225.5k b/d. Still restarting FCC, small CDU, may be back up early next week
- Marathon Galveston Bay: 585k b/d. Multiple units restarted, including largest crude section
- Valero Three Rivers: 89k b/d. Catalytic reformer, hydrocracker, FCC restarted
- Valero McKee: 195k b/d. FCC restarted Feb. 21, hydrocracker still down 2 Preparing to Initiate Restart: Shell Deer Park: 318k b/d. Making equipment repairs, set to begin restart next several days
- Chevron Pasadena: 112.2k b/d. Has initiated restart
Source: Bloomberg From The TradersCommunity Reseasch Desk