Exxon Mobil Corp plans to permanently close the lube oil production plant at its Beaumont, Texas, refinery in the second quarter of 2016, according to a company spokesman. Sources familiar with Exxon's plans said the lube plant, which includes two furfural units, one with a capacity of 10,000 barrels per day (bpd), a 4,200 bpd ketone dewaxing unit and a 4,000 bpd hydrofinisher, will permanently shut down in April.
"They say they're not making money," said one of the sources about Exxon's reason for shuttering the plant. Exxon said lubricant production is shifting to higher-performance products than those made at the 344,500 bpd Beaumont refinery.
"We will continue to supply and market Group I lubricant base stocks and associated waxes, which are manufactured at both our Baytown, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, refineries in the United States, as well as other locations worldwide," said Exxon spokesman Christian Flathman in a statement. Employees who work at the lube plant will assigned to different jobs at the refinery, Flathman said. According to the sources, about 27 people are employed at the affected units. Exxon will continue to operate a lubricant oil blending plant at the refinery.
Group I lubricants are made by applying solvents such as furfural to the lubricant feedstock. Group II and III lubricants are made from the hydrocracking process, are lower in sulfur content and have higher performance characteristics. "We recently expanded our manufacturing of higher performing base stocks (Group II and Group II+) at our facilities in Baytown and in Singapore and are evaluating a potential investment in Rotterdam to meet growing customer needs," Flathman said.
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