Tesoro to cease refining in Hawaii

Jan. 9, 2013
Tesoro Corp. will halt refining at its 93,700-b/cd Kapolei refinery in Hawaii after a year-long effort to sell the facility proved unsuccessful (OGJ Online, Jan. 11, 2012).

Tesoro Corp. will halt refining at its 93,700-b/cd Kapolei refinery in Hawaii after a year-long effort to sell the facility proved unsuccessful (OGJ Online, Jan. 11, 2012).

The company will convert Kapolei refinery to an import, storage, and distribution terminal and continue trying to sell it.

It expects to realize $300-350 million in cash by the end of 2013 from reduced working capital related to the conversion.

Tesoro bought the refinery, about 20 miles west of Honolulu, in 1998 from BHP Petroleum Americas Refining Inc.

In its announcement of the attempt to sell the refinery last year, the company said it wanted to concentrate on the US Midcontinent and West Coast (OGJ Online, Jan. 22, 2012).

Tesoro operates six other refineries.

Hawaii’s only other refinery also is at Kapolei, operated by Chevron Corp. with crude capacity of 54,000 b/cd.