U.S. Gulf Coast refinery utilization has nearly recovered from fall maintenance season with only two units left in restart mode following planned work as of November 21.
The 124,500 bpd fluid catalytic cracker and associated 26,600 bpd alkylation unit remained below normal operating levels since being shut late September at Marathon's 464,000 bpd Garyville, LA, refinery. October was the heaviest month of maintenance in the Gulf Coast this year, according to Genscape.
The largest maintenance projects this fall were at Valero's 292,000 bpd Port Arthur, TX, refinery, which completed after the restart of a hydrocracker on November 6, and Marathon's Garyville refinery, where units are restarting. Valero's plant-wide overhaul was expected for completion in late October, according to Reuters.
During the maintenance season, at least 11 percent of Gulf Coast FCC capacity was shut in October. Monitored FCCs that shut for planned work in October include Shell's 70,000 bpd unit in Deer Park, TX, Petrobras' 56,000 bpd Houston unit, Valero's 96,000 bpd unit in Corpus Christi, TX, and Marathon's 124,500 bpd unit in Garyville, LA.
Marathon's Garyville FCC will be down for the longest period, shut for 56 days as of November 21. The Garyville FCC was also the only FCC monitored by Genscape that was shut in October 2015 for planned work. The 2015 work was completed in 19 days, according to Genscape.
Fall maintenance in the U.S. Gulf Coast increased in 2016, reaching a maximum capacity offline of 11 percent on October 10. Maintenance in 2015 was uncharacteristically low with companies running units to capture relatively healthy refining margins and relatively weak crude prices. The maximum capacity offline monitored by Genscape in fall 2015 was 2.46 percent, or 226,000 bbls, on November 3, 2015. The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price closed that day at $47/bbl. In 2014, the maximum outage was 8.22 percent, or 550,000 bbls, on November 1.
Genscape's North American Refinery Intelligence Service combines observations obtained from infrared cameras with in-house analytical and technological expertise to provide an unrivaled view into real-time operations at U.S. and Canadian refineries. Genscape currently monitors 80 percent of overall refinery capacity in the United States, including 92 percent of East Coast refineries, 84 percent of Midcontinent refineries, and 91 percent of Gulf Coast refineries. To learn more, or request a free trial of the North American Refinery Intelligence Service, click here.