July 9, 2020:

U.S. refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp is delaying all maintenance projects at its 102,000 barrel-per-day St. Paul Park, Minnesota, refinery for 2020, a source familiar with the matter said, amid concerns related to the spread of the novel coronavirus, as reported by Reuters. Several refiners have delayed planned maintenance at their plants this year due to concerns around the spread of the coronavirus among workers, or as part of capital and operational expense cuts. Contractors that work on a wide range of projects for the refinery were told they would not resume until next year, according to the source. Planned work included maintenance on a crude unit in September, according to Industrial Info Resources (IIR), which tracks refinery work and interruptions.

Marathon declined to comment. Depending on the size of a project, refinery maintenance can require thousands of contract workers working for several weeks or months to carry out upgrades and maintenance at a plant. Social distancing guidelines can be difficult to abide by while conducting such work, according to refiners. The St. Paul Park refinery is operating at lower rates amid reduced demand for refined products resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, according to IIR. Marathon Petroleum said in May that it would cut capital spending by approximately 30% and expected operating costs to be lower by $950 million. Net loss attributable to Marathon was $9.2 billion in the first quarter of 2020, as it booked $12.4 billion in charges related to inventory writedowns and goodwill impairment.

- www.bicmagazine.com

July 9, 2020:

The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled in favor of Meridian Energy Group’s Air Quality Permit suit last week, giving the company the right to complete construction of the Davis Refinery in western North Dakota. The ruling is a major milestone for Meridian and for the industry, as the first greenfield, full-conversion refinery in the U.S. is more than 40 years will be completed, according to Meridian. The refinery is being developed in Billings County on about 150 acres (and additional acreage for a buffer) east of the Fryburg Rail Facility in Belfield. The court decision last week marks the end of the litigation process with respect to the Davis Refinery’s Permit to Construct issued in June 2018, after a rigorous 18 month review by the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality.

In issuing the permit, the N.D. Department of Environmental Quality found that the emissions from the Davis Refinery would be substantially below stringent federal standards, and would be monitored to such an extent that the refinery qualified as a Synthetic Minor Synthetic Source. This finding, now confirmed by the North Dakota Supreme Court, was a first for a full-conversion refinery and was hailed as “historic” by major industry commentators, according to Merdian Energy Group information. “The Department appreciates the collaborative approach Meridian has taken throughout the entire process. Our primary evaluation criteria remain that our partners follow the science and the law, and Meridian demonstrated leadership in both areas. The people of North Dakota demand these virtues in all our actions, and they should accept nothing less,” said David Glatt, director of the N.D. Department of Environmental Quality. William Prentice, CEO & chairman of Meridian, said, “Meridian is thankful for the Court’s decision in this matter. This decision is a major milestone in continuing Meridian’s mission – to develop the cleanest and smartest refineries on the planet – and making it a reality. The Davis design that is the basis for the PTC (Permit to Construct) will result in Davis having total emissions of one-eighth of industry average, and less than one-half of the industry’s GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions. If one half of the refining industry in the United States were converted or replaced with Meridian technology the industry would show a reduction of 88 million tons of GHG per year!”

Established in 2013, Meridian has offices in Belfield, Houston, Texas, and Irvine, California. Refinery developments are under way in North Dakota ad Texas.

- www.minotdailynews.com

July 8, 2020:

Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) – the real estate development unit of Hilco Global – completed a transaction to purchase the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery in southwest Philadelphia. “The deal is a giant step toward building an environmentally responsible and economically robust commercial hub in Southwest Philadelphia,” the developer stated in a release.  “I want to thank Hilco Redevelopment Partners for their commitment to Philadelphia by assuming ownership of one of the most important commercial sites in the city,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. “The action creates jobs, ensures the future commercial viability of the site, and decreases the former refinery’s environmental impact.” 

The refinery, the largest on the East Coast, closed for good after a massive explosion. The site had refined oil for a century and a half. The closing did not lead to any fuel shortages, due to abundant supplies and nearby refineries like PBF’s Delaware City refinery.  Hilco has experience with large redevelopment projects, the closest to Delaware until now being the former Bethlehem Steel site near Baltimore. Hilco says the project created 8,500 jobs. 

“Our plan is to transform the site into a commercial hub to be shared by dozens of world-class companies that will benefit from Philadelphia’s diverse workforce and strategic location with an environmentally responsible infrastructure that will be great for all Philadelphians,” said Roberto Perez, CEO – Hilco Redevelopment Partners. “We are looking forward to collaborating with city, state and neighborhood leaders and community groups, working side by side as your new partner and member of the community to create this extraordinary center for commerce and economic development.”  The project’s 1, 300 acres–the total size of Philadelphia’s Central Business District–offers job growth potential, according to a release.  The site will require extensive clean-up, with Hilco stating that union workers will be hired to do that work.  The site could ultimately employ thousands of workers, according to studies.  The refinery is near Interstate 95 and could land some logistics and warehouse operations.

- www.delawarebusinessnow.com

July 9, 2020:

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is weighing the sale of its 211,146 barrel-per-day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana, refinery, the company said on Tuesday. Robin Mooldijk, Shell’s executive vice president of manufacturing, told employees in an internal message on Tuesday about the possible sale of the refinery, located 58 miles (93 km) west of New Orleans, according to sources familiar with plant operations. Shell took sole ownership of the refinery on May 1, 2017, when Motiva Enterprises [MOTIV.UL] became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco. Motiva had been a joint-venture between the two companies for 15 years. Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said the possible sale was part of the company’s plan announced in 2019 to structure its operations to match the future market for downstream products.

- Reuters

June 19, 2020:

India is set to double its refining capacity for crude oil to 450-500 million tonnes per annum by 2030 said Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday. The minister said the construction of a new refinery in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra with a refining capacity of 60 million tonnes per annum is set to start soon.

Why is this boost in capacity needed?

India’s current refining capacity of 249.9 million tonnes per annum exceeds domestic consumption of petroleum products which was 213.7 million tonnes in the previous fiscal. However, India’s consumption of petroleum products is likely to rise to 335 million tonnes per annum by 2030 and to 472 million tonnes by 2040 according to government estimates. India needs to boost refining capacity to meet growing demand.

How will this be achieved?

Pradhan said the expansion in refining capacity will come from both brownfield and greenfield projects. The new refinery project in Ratnagiri is one of the key projects in the planned expansion and has received investment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s national oil companies — Saudi Aramco and ADNOC respectively — which together own 50 per cent of the project while the remaining 50 per cent is owned by Indian PSUs, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Other key projects include a joint venture between HPCL and the Rajasthan government for a new refinery in Barmer Rajasthan with a refining capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum as well as the major expansion projects in existing refineries in Panipat, Paradip and Koyali.

What are some of the roadblocks in achieving this?

Experts said many of the projects by the state run oil refiners have been severely delayed in the past because of issues in acquiring the required land as well as in obtaining environmental clearances. IOCL’s Paradip refinery was initially expected to begin operations in 2012 but was only able to start operations in 2015 because it faced land acquisition and environmental clearance issues.

By indianexpress.com