-- Exxon Mobil (XOM) plans maintenance on units at its 612,000 barrels per day Beaumont refinery in Texas, Reuters said Thursday, citing sources familiar with plant operations.
The first maintenance is scheduled in May, when a 60,000 b/d coker will be taken offline, with the turnaround expected to continue into June, according to the sources.
Later in the year, Exxon intends to idle a 120,000 b/d fluid catalytic cracking unit, or FCCU, in December, along with two hydrotreating units, with work continuing into January, the sources said.
The FCCU is a key gasoline-producing unit, while hydrotreaters remove impurities from fuels, making both critical to refinery output during normal operations.
Coker's process converts heavy crude into lighter fuel components or produces petroleum coke, which can serve as an alternative fuel source to coal.
The Beaumont site ranks as the third-largest refinery in the US based on crude oil processing capacity, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
The refinery's FCCU represents about 3.3% of total FCCU capacity along the US Gulf Coast, according to the report.
Facilities located across Texas and Louisiana together make up roughly 60% of overall US FCCU capacity, while the Beaumont plant's coking unit contributes around 7.4% of Gulf Coast coking capacity, the report added, citing EIA data.
has reached out to Exxon Mobil for any comments.
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