WORLD CRUDE CAPACITY, CONVERSION CAPABILITY INCH UPWARD

Anne K. Rhodes
Refining/Petrochemical Editor

Reported world crude capacity increased almost 1 million b/d, while conversion processes-fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), hydrocracking, coking-increased more than 1.7 million b/d or 8.3%, according to the journal's most recent survey of world refining capacity.

As a measure of capacity growth in the past year, changes in distillation capacities (atmospheric plus vacuum) were calculated for three major refining regions. The year-to-year comparison indicates:

For the U.S., an increase of 293,000 b/d, or 1.3%
For the European Economic Community (E.E.C.), an increase of 431,000 b/d, or 2.6% For Asia/Pacific, excluding China, an increase of 122,000 b/d, or 1.1%.

China was excluded from these calculations because better capacity data have been obtained for both China and the former Soviet Union. The new figures indicated large increases that are the result of more accurate information, rather than actual equipment changes over the past year.

The reported change in atmospheric and vacuum distillation capacity for China and the Soviet Union since last year's survey is 1.2 million b/d, or 8.4 %. Again, this update likely includes several years worth of upgrades in China and the C.I.S. ID

Of the reported 998,000 b/d increase in global crude capacity, all but 115,000 b/d is accounted for by the new information on China's refineries. And more than 1.2 million b/d of catalytic reforming capacity is now listed for C.I.S refineries, whereas none was reported last year.

Bechtel Corp. supplied the China numbers (OGJ, May 9, p. 36), while Russian refining expert Mikhail Rudin, now with Litwin Engineers & Constructors Inc., Houston, provided data for the C.I.S. and Lithiania.

Excluding the new numbers from China, global crude capacity is only about 331,000 b/d greater than at yearend 1993.

But without the China update, world conversion capacity is up about 623,000 b/d - a little less than 1 million b/d -still much greater than the increase in crude capacity.

Processes that produce transportation fuels - FCC, hydrocracking catalytic reforming, and alkylation - saw an increase of about 2.7 million b/d, or 15%, during 1994.

Included in this total, as mentioned, is almost 1.2 million b/d of reforming capacity now reported for C.I.S. refineries. Without the C.I.S data the increase in fuel-producing processes is only about 6%.

Table 1 shows a ranking of the world's largest refiners, in terms of crude capacity. These values represent net capacity, including partial interests in joint venture refineries.

The new data on China bumps China's state company, Sinopec, up to third on the list. Chevron moved down several notches to ninth place after selling its Port Arthur, Tex., and Philadelphia refineries. Sun Co. Inc. is new to the list, as a result of its acquisition of Chevron's Philadelphia refinery. And Conoco Inc. inched into the twentieth spot.

Most of the changes in the list are due to improvements in the calculation procedure.

In past years, some companies' figures were calculated by dividing crude input rates, taken from annual reports, by an estimated average 90% utilization rate. This year, by contrast, only OGJ survey data and information on percentage ownership in joint venture refineries were used to determine the rankings.

SURVEY LAYOUT

Several changes were made this year in the way the Journal requests and reports data for the survey:

In the catalytic reforming category (see Legend, p. 53), refiners no longer are asked to distinguish whether their units use conventional or bimetallic catalysts

Almost all refiners now report using bimetallic catalyst, indicating that the distinction had outlived its usefulness.

A new column for oxygenate production capacity was added to the survey table.
Because of the added column, coke and asphalt capacity are now reported in a single column, with coke capacity distinguished by the use of a dagger (t).
Cumene was added to the list of reportable products in the "Aromatics/isomerization category."
Footnotes were added to the "Hydrogen" category to distinguish between the various hydrogen production and separation processes.

REGIONAL CHANGES

Table 2 shows world crude and processing capacities by region. For Asia/Pacific, the new numbers from China created big increases in most of the processes listed.

Other major changes include:

Large increases in vacuum distillation, catalytic reforming, and coking for the Eastern Europe and C.I.S., as a result of the new data for the former Soviet Union.
A big apparent decrease in catalytic hydrorefining capacity for Eastern Europe/C.I.S., caused by a change in the way hydroprocessing was reported for this re-ion (most of this capacity was reported as "hydrotreating" last year).
A 225,000 b/d increase in crude capacity in the Middle East, mostly the result of incremental additions, with the exception of a 102,000 b/d increase at Kuwait National Petroleum Corp.'s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.
A 205,000 b/d increase in crude capacity for North American refineries, despite the loss of six small U.S. refineries from the list (see p. 53). This increase is due to incremental capacity additions at U.S. and Canadian refineries.

It should be noted that refiners continue to vacillate on the way they report hydroprocessing capacity. Table 2 reflects a worldwide decrease of more than 1 million b/d of hydrorefining capacity, although, when hydrorefining and hydrotreating capacity are considered, where is a net global increase of about 615,000 b/d.

CONVERSION UNITS

Figs. 1 and 2 show relative conversion capability, an indicator of complexity, for the U.S. and E.E.C. Included in these calculations are the four fuel-producing processes mentioned earlier.

The curves appear to be leveling off, indicating that the fuel-producing processes have grown at about the same rate as crude capacity over the past year.

Where, then, does the 10% global increase in these processes originate? The increases come mostly from China and the C.I.S., respectively, as a result of the new data from these regions. Catalytic cracking and catalytic reforming totals for both regions have grown dramatically.

Table 3 shows crude and downstream capacities for the three major refining regions: U.S., E.E.C., and Asia/Pacific.

U.S. refiners have added 110,000 b/d of FCC capacity in small increments. And Western European refiners have added about 119,000 b/d of hydrocracking capacity, mostly due to a new 30,000 b/d unit at Raffineria di Roma's Rome refinery and a new 34,000 b/d unit at Esso Nederland By's Rotterdam refinery.

Several other refineries around the world have added grassroots conversion units, contributing to the overall increases in those process categories. In Japan, Kyokuto Petroleum Ltd. constructed a 20,000 b/d FCC unit at its Chiba refinery. And Petrogal added a 31,500 b/d FCC unit and a 23,000 b/d visbreaker at its Sines, Portugal, refinery.

In Argentina, YPF SA added two new 1,500 tons/day coking units - one at La Plata and one at Lujan de Cuvo. And Esso Nederland commissioned an 80,000 b/d vacuum distillation column at its Rotterdam refinery.

As far as expansions are concerned, Unocal Corp. doubled coking capacity at its San Francisco refinery, adding 21,000 b/d.

And Texaco Refining & Marketing Inc. added 56,000 b/d of delayed coking capacity at its El Dorado, Kan., refinery. Refiners in Indonesia and the U.K. also added incremental coking capacity.

HYDROPROCESSING

Refiners around the world have added about 615,000 b/d of hydrotreating and hydrorefining capacity during 1994. Major additions to these categories include:

A new 60,000 b/d reformer feed hydrorefiner at Fina Raffinaderij Antwerpen's Antwerp refinery
16,000 b/d distillate hydrotreater at Esso AG's Ingolstadt, Germany refinery
A 16,000 b/d resid desulfurizer at Esso Italiana SpA's Augusta, Italy, refinery
A 35,000 b/d of distillate hydrotreater at Kyokuto's Chiba, Japan, refinery
A 48,000 b/d reformer feed pretreater and 26,000 b/d distillate hydrotreater at Mobil Oil Singapore Pty. Ltd.'s Jurong, Singapore, refinery
A 15,000 b/d distillate hydrotreater at Cenex's Laurel, Mont., refinery.

Incremental additions around the world make up the balance of the increase in this category.

COMPANY SIZE

Table 4 shows U.S. and E.E.C. refining companies with more than 200,000 b/d of crude capacity. Chevron Corp. remains the largest O.S. refiner, even after selling two of its marginal plants. Amoco Oil Co. edged out Exxon Co. USA for the number two spot on this list, as a result of adding 10,000 b/d of crude capacity at its Whiting, Ind., refinery.

Sun Refining & Marketing Co. moved from tenth to seventh place over the past year when it bought Chevron's Philadelphia refinery. And the acquisition of Chevron's Port Arthur, Tex., refinery by Clark Oil & Refining Corp. caused Clark to move onto the list, taking eighteenth place.

Mobil Corp. remains fifth on the list, although the data in Table 4 do not reflect 1994 expansions at the company's U.S. refineries. Mobil's U.S. information did not arrive soon enough to be included in the survey and tables, but the company has made a number of moderate expansions in the past year, including:

Crude capacity increase totalling 29,000 b/d
Vacuum capacity increases of 16,000 b/d
The addition of 10,000 b/d delayed coking capacity.

These expansions occurred at Mobil's Beaumont, Tex., Joliet, Ill., Paulsboro, N.J., and Torrance, Calif., refineries.

The E.E.C. remains essentially unchanged, except that Sarpom's Trecate, Italy, refinery is now listed under its owner, Exxon Corp. And a 20,000 b/d crude oil distillation expansion at DEA Mineraloel AG's refinery in Wesseling, Germany, caused the company to move onto the list, in eighteenth place.

Table 5 shows the share of U.S. refining capacity held by large vs. small companies (defined as, respectively, those holding greater than or less than 200,000 b/d of crude capacity).

Large companies are continuing to gain in their share of distillation capacity, with an increase of 4% over the past year.

As is historically typical, the large companies have more downstream processing capability, measured as a percentage of crude capacity, than their smaller counterparts. There is an especially large difference in the FCC, hydrocracking, hydrotreating, and coking categories.

OXYGENATES

Although oxygenate production capacity is now part of the survey, there are a number of merchant petrochemical companies that also produce the various ethers. Table 6 lists those companies and their capacities for oxygenate production.

Taking into account both merchant and captive plants, world oxygenate capacity has increased some 20,000 b/d, or 5.4%, over the past year, as refiners and petrochemicals producers continue to prepare to make reformulated gasolines.

CONSTRUCTION

The journal has estimated refinery construction projects that will be completed in the next 2 years (Table 3). As expected, the Asia/Pacific region continues to be a hotbed of capacity growth, especially for crude distillation.

But a number of projects in the E.E.C. indicate significant increases in hydrotreating capacity there in the near term.

A look at some major construction projects, by region, will provide a little insight into which processes will see the most growth in the coming years.

ASIA/PACIFIC

China has two grassroots refineries under study: a 100,000 b/d joint venture between China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell, to be built at Huizhou, Guangdong Province; and a 110,000 Sinopec refinery slated for 1998 completion in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Partners in the Sinopec venture are Yukong Ltd. and Sunkyong Ltd.

Cochin Refineries Ltd. is expanding crude, vacuum, and FCC capacity at its Ambalamugal, India, refinery.

Also in India:

Essar Oil has received approval for a $1.35 billion, 180,000 b/d grassroots refinery to be built at Vadinar.
IBP Co. Ltd. has a 60,000 b/d grassroots refinery project scheduled for 1997 completion in Numaligarh, Golaghat.
Indian Oil Corp. and Gulf Oil & Trading Corp. are slated to build a 120,000 b/d refinery at Daitari, Orissa.
Madras Refineries Ltd. plans to build a $853 million, 120,000 b/d grassroots refinery in Karnal.

Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. has a 60,060 b/d refinery under construction at Mangalore.

In Indonesia, BP Asia Pacific and C. Itoh are planning a $600 million, 120,000 b/d refinery at a site to be determined. And Pertamina, Indonesia's state oil company, has a major expansion near completion at its Balikpapan refinery. The project includes 125,000 b/d of crude capacity, 105,000 b/d hydrotreating (gas oil, light ends, and resid), and 83,000 b/d FCC/RCC.

In Malaysia, BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. and Chinese Petroleum Corp (45% each) are partnering with Petronas to build a $1.26 billion, 150,000 b/d refinery at Bintulu. Other grassroots projects in the area are:

National Iranian Oil Co. plans a $1.3 billion, 120,000 b/d refinery for 1998-99 completion in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
PNG Oil Refining Pty. Ltd. plans to finish a 20,000 b/d plant in Kopi, Papua New Guinea.
PNG Oil Refinery Pty. Ltd. is set to build a 30,000 b/d refinery in Port Moresby Harbor, papua New Guienea (OGJ, Apr. 18, p. 22).
Star Petroleum, a joint venture of Caltex Petroleum (64%) and Petroleum Authority of Thailand (36%), his a 130,000 b/d refinery set for 1996 completion in Map Ta Phut, Thailand.
The government of Viet Nam plans to build a 130,000 b/d, $1.2 billion refinery at Vung Tau, with partners Total (30%), Chinese Petroleum Corp. (30%), and Chung Chia (10%).

A number of incremental capacity expansions are under way in Japan.

MIDDLE EAST

National Iranian Oil Co. is adding a 232,000 b/d crude unit, expected to come on stream some time next year at Bandar Abbas. And Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco) has major projects ongoing at its four refineries:

At jeddah, Aramco is adding a 29,000 b/d Platformer, a 24,000 b/d naphtha desulfurizer, and a 21,000 b/d diesel desulfurizer. In addition, the C5/C6 isomerization unit is being expanded by 4,500 b/d, the visbreaker by 17,000 b/d, and the polymerization unit by 1,500 b/d. Completion of the project is expected some time next year.

At Ras Tanura, a project expected to come on stream in 1998 includes a new 60,000 b/d visbreaker, a 39,000 b/d Platformer, a 42,000 b/d hydrocracker, a 39,000 b/d reformer feed pretreater, and a 14,000 b/d naphtha desulfurizer.
At Riyadh, Aramco is adding a 23,000 b/d Platformer, a 38,000 b/d naphtha desulfurizer, a 32,000 b/d diesel desulfurizer, and 8,500 b/d of additional C5/C6 isomerization capacity.
At Yanbu, a project with expected completion in 1995 includes a 130,000 b/d crude expansion, a 55,000 b/d Platformer expansion, an 83,000 b/d naphtha desulfurizer, a 27,000 b/d isomerization expansion, a 55,000 b/d FCC expansion, a 130,000 b/d vacuum distillation addition, a 49,000 b/d visbreaker expansion, 17,000 b/d of additional alkylation capacity, a 70,000 b/d distillate hydrotreater, a 40,000 b/d hydrocracker, and a 15,000 b/d kerosine hydrotreater.

In Yemen, Aden Refining, Co. is planning a 70,000 b/d crude expansion at its Little Aden refinery. And a $300 million, 100,000 b/d grassroots refinery is slated for construction at Mukalla. If all of these projects stick to schedule, there should be major increases in conversion capacity in the near future in this region.

U.S.

Near-term projects at U.S. refineries are mostly incremental capacity expansions and revamps. There are, however, quite a number of U.S. refiners performing major upgrade projects that are expected to come on line in the next 2 years:

As part of its clean fuels project, Chevron is constructing a 20,000 b/d sulfuric acid -alkylation unit, 20,000 b/d of isomerization capacity, a 4,000 b/d tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME) unit, and a 15,000 b/d naphtha desulfurizer at its El Segundo, Calif., refinery. The project is expected to come on stream year-end 1995. (The company has similar plans in store for its Richmond, Calif., refinery.)
Conoco is adding a 20,000 b/d gas oil hydrotreater at Billings, Mont. and, at Lake Charles, La., a 15,000 b/d naphtha desulfurizer and a new 34,000 b/d Platformer.
Lyondell-Citgo Refining Co. has started work on a huge upgrade project at its Houston refinery, including 100,000 b/d crude capacity, 70,000 b/d vacuum distillation capacity, a 45,000 b/d delayed coker, and a 45,000 b/d gas oil hydrotreater.
Shell Oil Co. is adding a 50,000 b/d delayed coker, a 32,000 b/d gas oil hydrotreater, and a 17,000 b/d alkylation unit at Deer Park, Tex., in a project with major backing by Pemex.

EUROPE

Elf France is adding gas oil hydrotreating at its two refineries in France: 57,000 b/d at Donges and 27,000 b/d at Feyzin. Both are set for 1995 completion. BP also is adding gas oil hydrotreating capacity - 23,000 b/d at Dunkirk, France.

In Germany, Beta Raffineriegesellschaft is adding 70,000 b/d of vacuum distillation capacity, a 30,000 b/d gasification unit, a 40,000 b/d hydrocracker, and 14,000 b/d of isomerition capacity, at its Wilhelmshaven refinery, all by the end of 1996.

At Refinery 2000 Investition GmbH's 175,000 b/d joint venture refinery under construction at Leuna, in former East Germany, Elf and partners are building 36,000 b/d of naphtha desulfurization capacity and 64,000 b/d gas oil hydrotreating, in addition to a 36,000 b/d catalytic reformer, a 27,000 b/d hydrocracker, and a 26,000 b/d visbreaker.

Shell Nederland Raffinaderij By is adding a 50,000 b/d hydrocracker at its Pernis refinery in The Netherlands. And Panoco Asturiana SA has a $1.6 billion refinery, of unknown capacity, scheduled to go on stream in Gijon, Spain, in 1996. A number of additional incremental capacity expansions are under way at Italian refineries.

SOUTH AMERICA

Petroleo Brasileiro SA is adding diesel hydrotreating capacity at six of its refineries: 31,500 b/d at Araucaria, Canoas, Cubatao, Duque de Caxias, and Paulinia, and 19,000 b/d at Mataripe.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA subsidiary Corpoven plans to complete two 53,000 b/d FCC units at its Jose, Venezuela, refinery in 1997 or 1998. And sister company Maraven SA is undergoing a major expansion of its Cardon plant, including almost 180,000 b/d of hydrotreating/hydrorefining capacity (is five separate units), a 60,000 b/d delayed coker, and a 45,000 b/d Platformer.

C.I.S.

Major upgrades to the refining system in the former Soviet Union are under way. A new 66,000 b/d refinery is slated for 1997 start-up in Novopolotsk, Belar-us. And in 1999, a new 60,000 b/d refinery is scheduled to go on stream in Mangyshlak Peninsula, Kazakhstan.

Nizhnikamsk Refinery is planning to build a $1.5 billion, 240,000 b/d refinery in Nizhnikamsk, Russia. The construction schedule is unknown.

Similarly, Novo-Ufinsk Refinery is planning a 120,000 plant at Ufa, Russia, and Tomsk Petroleum Co. and Vostochnaya Kompaniya are slated to build a 120,000 b/d refinery at Tomsk, Russia. An 80,000 b/d refinery is planned in Tyumen Province, Western Siberia.

Scheduled for 1996 completion is a 100,000 b/d joint venture refinery in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Partners in the $1 billion project are Marubeni Corp. and China National Petroleum Corp.

A number of other C.I.S. refineries are undergoing upgrade and expansion projects.

As indicated by the projects listed, the areas projected to grow fastest are Asia/Pacific, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East. Given the amount of refinery construction and expansion already on the books for completion in the next few years, the global refining, industry is sure to make marked increases in its sophistication by the turn of the century.