By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 16 -- The US refining industry capacity is holding steady despite a decline in the number of refineries, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) reported Wednesday.
The annual US refining and storage capacity report contains data supplied by the US Department of Energy on the crude oil capacity of US refiners as of Jan. 1.
Statistics showed 149 operable refineries in the US with a total crude distillation capacity of 16.8 million b/cd. This number was down from 153 operable refineries on Jan. 1, 2002.
In spite of the reduced number of refineries, US refining capacity slipped by 28,000 b/cd, but it remains above the figures reported for 1999-2001, which were 16.3 million b/cd, 16.5 million b/cd, and 16.6 million b/cd, respectively.
NPRA comments
NPRA Pres. Bob Slaughter said, "Although US refining capacity is basically flat, the disturbing trend of refinery closures has continued. This is bad news, because a healthy and diverse domestic refining industry is needed to maintain a source of supply of refined petroleum products to meet the nation's growing demand for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, among other refinery products."
The report also includes statistics on shutdown and reactivated refineries and refinery sales during 2002.
In 2002, four US refineries were shut down with a total downstream capacity loss of 94,000 b/d. In 2001, only one refinery in the US was shut down.
In 2002, six refineries with a total capacity of 790,600 b/d were sold. This contrasted with 2001 when 27 refineries were sold with a total capacity of 2.5 million b/d.
