HOUSTON: Exxon Mobil Corp plans to restart the large crude distillation unit (CDU) at its 560,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Baytown, Texas, refinery by early April, sources familiar with plant operations said on Monday.
Exxon has not set a date for restarting at a gasoline hydrotreating unit shut by a fire on Saturday, the sources said.
Exxon spokeswoman Sarah Nordin said an investigation into the fire is underway. Nordin declined comment on the status of the CDU.
Hydrofining Unit 9 was shut on Saturday afternoon, reducing gasoline production at the refinery, the sources said.
The 280,300-bpd Pipestill 8 CDU, which accounts for one-half of the refinery's capacity, was shut on Jan. 14 as part of a multi-unit overhaul at the refinery that Exxon calls the largest in the plant's history.
In addition to Pipestill 8, an associated vacuum distillation unit, a catalytic reformer, a sulfur plant and the 55,000-bpd Gofiner hydrotreater were shut for the overhaul, which will increase the refinery's capacity to process lighter, sweeter crude oil, the sources said.
Once the work is completed, the refinery expects to be able to produce an additional 10,000 bpd of jet fuel, Nordin said. Exxon is also carrying out projects to improve environmental performance and competitiveness.
The work on Pipestill 8 was initially expected to finish by March 15, the sources said.
Pipestill 8 is the largest of three CDUs doing the primary refining of crude oil into hydrocarbon feedstocks for all other units at the refinery as well as producing unfinished gasoline.
Reformers convert refining byproducts into octane-boosting components of gasoline. Sulfur plants extract sulfur from hydrogen sulfide removed during the production of motor fuels. Hydrotreaters extract hydrogen sulfide during the production of motor fuels in compliance with US environmental rules.
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