A 200-ft vacuum tower is lifted into place at the new Excel Paralubes base oil plant at Westlake, La., (left) adjacent to Conoco Inc.'s Westlake refinery . Excel Paralubes is a Texas general partnership between Conoco Inc. and Pennzoil Products Co. Photos courtesy of Conoco.
The $500 million plant is adjacent to Conoco's 226,000 b/d Westlake refinery.
Excel Paralubes has the capacity to produce 18,000 b/d of colorless, hydrocracked base oil, the primary ingredient in finished lubricants. The project increases U.S. base oil capacity by 10% and, partners said, makes Louisiana the "base oil capital of the world."
Construction of the plant followed on the heels of the defeat of a proposed processing tax in Louisiana.
At the plant's dedication ceremony, Pennzoil Chairman and CEO James L. Pate said, "There is a direct correlation between the economic expansion we celebrate today and the defeat of the processing tax." Pate added that future passage of the tax would negate the possibility for expansion of Excel Paralubes' Louisiana operations.
Louisiana's Secretary of Economic Development, Kevin Reilly, vowed, "As long as (Gov. Murphy J. Foster) and I are breathing, we will fight the oil and gas processing tax until the last man is standing."
The lubes plant
The lubes plant's main units are a 32,000 b/d hydrocracker licensed by UOP, Des Plaines, Ill.; and a 20,000 b/d Hydrodewaxing unit licensed by Chevron Research & Technology Co., Richmond, Calif.
For base oils production, vacuum gas oil (VGO) from the adjacent Conoco refinery is fed to a special vacuum distillation unit at the lubes plant. The lighter distillates (15,000 b/d) are removed and recycled to the refinery.
Waxy gas oil is converted in the hydrocracker at a pressure of 3,000 psi and a temperature of 1,000° F. The hydrocracker removes sulfur and nitrogen impurities.
Hydrocracker effluent flows to the dewaxer, which removes wax molecules to improve base oil pumpability and resist the formation of gels, even at low temperatures. Hydrogenation of the dewaxed stream removes aromatics and stabilizes the product. The dewaxer includes a saturated-gas plant, which removes propane, butane, and naphtha from the reaction products.
The lubes plant also includes two sulfur-recovery units. The units each have a capacity of 90 long tons/day without oxygen enrichment, and 180 long tons/day with oxygen enrichment, according to Excel Paralubes' mechanical engineering manager Steve Geiger. Oxygen and nitrogen will be purchased from a nearby pipeline operated by Big Three Industries Inc., Houston.
Partners also built a 2.5 million bbl tank farm to store feedstocks and products for the lubes plant. Of the plant's products, 88% will be shipped by barge.
Conoco Pres. and CEO Archie W. Dunham said, "The plant is among the most competitive anywhere, thanks to its advanced technology and world-scale economies."
Refinery upgrade
The refinery underwent a $250 million expansion to increase VGO output to feed the lubes plant. The expansion included:
- A 40,000 b/d crude capacity expansion.
- A 60,000 b/d vacuum distillation unit, which produces about 30,000 b/d VGO.
- A 34,000 b/d UOP Cyclemax CCR Platformer.
The new Platformer produces 45 MMcfd hydrogen, which is used in the lube oil hydrocracker and in fuels processing at the refinery. The hydrogen is processed in a pressure swing adsorption unit to achieve a purity of 99.5%.
"These investments-$250 million for Pennzoil and $500 million for Conoco-show our faith in Louisiana and the industry," said Dunham. "It also is the largest-ever U.S. refining and marketing investment for Conoco," he added.
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