Husky advances Lima refinery expansion

Feb. 3, 2014
Husky Energy Co. has approved a $300 million upgrade project at its 161,500-b/d Lima, Ohio, refinery to boost the plant’s ability to process increased volumes of heavy crude from western Canada.

Husky Energy Co. has approved a $300 million upgrade project at its 161,500-b/d Lima, Ohio, refinery to boost the plant’s ability to process increased volumes of heavy crude from western Canada (OGJ Online, Dec. 2, 2013).

The crude oil flexibility project—which comes as part of the company’s focused integration strategy in western Canada—will increase heavy crude processing capacity at the refinery by up to 40,000 b/d starting in 2017, according to Husky.

The project will include modifications to the refinery’s coker and other processing units targeted to enhance heavy crude feedstock processing but will also maintain the plant’s capacity to refine light crudes, Husky said.

Engineering work on the project currently is under way, and equipment upgrades at the refinery are scheduled to occur during planned turnarounds in late-2015 and late-2016, the company said.

Late last year, a Husky spokesperson told OGJ that while the Lima project would not expand the refinery’s capacity, it would give the plant greater flexibility to switch between lighter and heavier blends (OGJ Online, Dec. 2, 2013).