By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 10 -- Chevron Corp. plans to build a precommercial plant at its 330,000 b/d Pascagoula, Miss., refinery to test the technical and economic viability of a technology to upgrade heavy oil.
This proprietary vacuum resid slurry hydrocracking (VRSH) technology has the potential to increase yields of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from heavy and ultraheavy crude oil and could be used to increase and upgrade production of heavy oil resources, said company officials.
"Given the increasing role of heavy oil in meeting the world's growing energy demand and our significant heavy oil resources, this technology could provide a unique pathway to increase supplies of clean-burning fuels for the marketplace," said Mike Wirth, executive vice-president of global downstream operations for Chevron.
The Pascagoula precommercial plant will have a capacity of 3,500 b/d. All necessary permits have been secured, and construction is expected to begin later this year.
Chevron has been developing VRSH technology since 2003. The patented process has undergone successful preliminary testing on a wide range of feedstocks in multiple pilot plants at Chevron's research center in Richmond, Calif. The company's research shows that the technology can achieve up to 100% conversion of the heaviest feedstock versus less than 80% conversion by the best current commercial refining technology.
The Pascagoula refinery, Chevron's largest wholly owned petroleum refinery, has been operating more than 40 years.
