MARATHON SETS REFINING OUTLAY

July 29, 1991

Marathon Oil Co. will spend $230 million to reduce sulfur content of diesel fuel produced at its two largest U.S. refineries. The projects will bring diesel fuel from Marathon plants at Garyville, La., and Robinson, Ill., into compliance with Clean Air Act requirements that go into effect in October 1993. Marathon let contracts for the work to M.W. Kellogg Co., Houston.

Marathon Oil Co. will spend $230 million to reduce sulfur content of diesel fuel produced at its two largest U.S. refineries.

The projects will bring diesel fuel from Marathon plants at Garyville, La., and Robinson, Ill., into compliance with Clean Air Act requirements that go into effect in October 1993.

Marathon let contracts for the work to M.W. Kellogg Co., Houston.

Crude capacity at Robinson refinery is 205,000 b/sd and at Garyville 263 b/sd (OGJ, Mar. 18, p. 84). Marathon also operates a 72,000 b/sd refinery at Texas City, Tex., a 71,000 b/sd refinery at Detroit, and a 50,000 b/sd refinery at Indianapolis.

At the Garyville refinery, Kellogg will:

Revamp a distillate hydrotreater using Exxon technology to process 45,000 b/sd of light oil feedstock.
Modify the main fractionator and gas concentration units in the fluid catalytic cracking unit to produce distillate hydrotreater feed.
Add a sour fuel gas amine absorber, Claus tailgas absorber, and regeneration unit.
Debottleneck a methyldiethanolamine regeneration unit.
At the Robinson plant, Kellogg will install:
A dual reactor, 60,000 b/sd distillate hydrotreater based on Exxon technology to process a range of feedstocks into low sulfur diesel fuel.
Two 90 long ton/day Claus sulfur recovery units.
Two SCOT Claus-tailgas treating units, a sour water stripping unit, and an amine regeneration system.