By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 7 -- Suncor Energy (USA) Inc. has reduced throughput at its 92,000 b/cd Commerce City, Colo., refinery for maintenance to complete a project allowing it to increase processing of crude oil from its Canadian oil sands operations.
The company shut down the refinery's west plant and sour crude unit and will restart them in a staggered sequence. Some units will be idle for as many as 42 days. The refinery's east plant will continue to refine about 34,000 b/d of oil.
During the shutdown, Suncor will make connections for commissioning and start-up of a $390 million project that began in August 2003 to enable the refinery to process 10,000-15,000 b/d of oil sands sour crude, broaden the slate of bitumen-based crude oils it can process, and meet new sulfur limits for highway diesel fuel.
