EXXON REDUCES PRODUCTION AT U.S. REFINERIES

Exxon Co. U.S.A. has trimmed output of its U.S. refineries by a combined 15% because of depressed margins on products markets. The company made the announcement last week as it began increasing crude runs at its 396,000 b/cd refinery at Baytown, Tex., on the Houston Ship Channel. Exxon trimmed Baytown crude runs late last month to manage feedstock inventories after a barge was rammed and sunk in the ship channel, briefly halting traffic. Most feedstock is delivered to the Baytown plant by

Jan. 12, 1993

2 min read

Exxon Co. U.S.A. has trimmed output of its U.S. refineries by a combined 15% because of depressed margins on products markets.

The company made the announcement last week as it began increasing crude runs at its 396,000 b/cd refinery at Baytown, Tex., on the Houston Ship Channel.

Exxon trimmed Baytown crude runs late last month to manage feedstock inventories after a barge was rammed and sunk in the ship channel, briefly halting traffic. Most feedstock is delivered to the Baytown plant by water.

But even before the channel was closed to traffic, Exxon late in 1992 had begun scaling back throughput at its five U.S. refining sites because of weak markets.

The U.S. Coast Guard reopened the ship channel Jan. 4.

Exxon officials said capacity is being pared in crude vacuum distillation, fluid catalytic cracking, and cyclic bimetallic and conventional catalyst reforming units. But cutbacks are not affecting each product stream proportionally.

Altogether, about 150,000 b/cd of capacity will be curtailed.

CAPACITY BREAKOUTS

Exxon's five U.S. refineries have combined rated crude capacity of 1.177 million b/cd.

The largest, a 421,000 b/cd complex at Baton Rouge, La., has 178,000 b/cd of vacuum distillation capacity, 180,000 b/cd of fluid catalytic cracking capacity, and cyclic bimetallic catalyst reforming capacity of 87,000 b/cd.

Baytown plant capacities are 190,600 b/cd of distillation, 175,000 b/cd fluid catalytic cracking, 58,000 b/cd cyclic conventional catalyst reforming, and 61,000 b/cd cyclic bimetallic catalyst reforming.

The other three plants and capacity ratings are:

190,000 b/cd refinery at Linden, N.J., with 62,000 b/cd of distillation, 114,000 b/cd fluid catalytic cracking, and 26,000 b/cd cyclic bimetallic catalyst reforming.
128,000 b/cd refinery at Benicia, Calif., with 65,000 b/cd distillation, 64,000 b/cd fluid catalytic cracking, and 31,000 b/cd cyclic conventional catalyst reforming.
42,000 b/cd refinery at Billings, Mont., with 17,000 b/cd distillation, 20,000 b/cd fluid catalytic cracking, and 9,500 b/cd conventional catalyst reforming.

Exxon will not reduce its work force or decommission or mothball process units because of the cutback. It said said market conditions will dictate when spare capacity is put back on stream.