Esso, OMW to combine Karlsruhe refineries

Table: Karlsruhe capacities [25046 bytes]

Esso AG, Exxon Corp.'s German affiliate, last week signed a letter of intent to combine its refinery at Karlsruhe in Southwest Germany with an adjacent refinery owned by Oberrheinische Mineralolwerke GmbH (OMW).

The result will be a 326,000 b/d capacity plant Exxon expects to be one of the most efficient, competitive refineries in western Europe. Such qualities have taken on added importance in a regional industry that has been plagued by surplus capacity and slim margins (OGJ, Mar. 25, p. 21).

Current crude oil processing capacities are 152,000 b/d at Esso's Karlsruhe refinery and 179,000 b/d at OMW's Karlsruhe plant. Partners in the OMW refinery are Conoco Inc., DEA Mineraloel AG, and Ruhroel GmbH, a joint venture of VEBA and Petroleos de Venezuela.

The combined refinery will process crude oil and other feedstock supplied by partners in proportion to their shares: DEA 32.25%, Esso 25%, Ruhroel 24%, and Conoco 18.75%.

Integrated operations will aim to afford improved product slates and processing efficiency while retaining operational flexibility for partners. The plant merger is not expected to reduce refined products supply in the region.

Assets to be combined include real estate, buildings, infrastructure, process units, storage tanks, and loading facilities. Contractor relationships and licensing arrangements also will be combined.

Talks to implement the letter of intent are under way. The final merger agreement hinges in part on regulatory approvals.

Current plans call for the final agreement to be complete by fall. Outlays of about $30 million to fully integrate the refineries are to be complete by yearend 1997.

Responsibility for environmental issues at the existing refineries will remain with the current owners. But liability for future environmental issues will lie with the new company.

The plants

The Karlsruhe refineries lie in the Upper Rhine Valley, south of Frankfurt. Both receive crude and feedstock via pipeline, products by barge and rail, and some feedstock by barge and rail.

Esso started up its Karlsruhe refinery in 1962 and made major additions in 1967.

Facilities include a delayed coker, calciner, thermal cracker, visbreaker, and two reformers. Main products stream is 20% motor gasoline and 50% distillate.

The plant has about 450 employees and occupies about 600 acres.

OMW started up its Karlsruhe refinery in 1963. Facilities include a cat cracker, catfeed hydrofiner, visbreaker, and two reformers. Its principal products stream is 33% motor gasoline and 40% distillate.

The plant has about 750 employees and occupies 800-900 acres.

Refinery partners are DEA 42%, Ruhroel 33%, and Conoco 25%.