ConocoPhillips’ Illinois refinery project nears endOn Wednesday October 26, 2011, 2:50 pm EDT * Start-up operations seen complete by mid-November* Upgrades to boost Canadian heavy oil demandOct 26, 2011 (Reuters) –ConocoPhillips said on Wednesday it expects a major upgrade of its Wood River, Illinois, refinery, a project aimed at dramatically boosting capacity to process Canadian heavy oil, to be operational by mid-November.
In its third-quarter results, ConocoPhillips said construction on the coker and refinery expansion project is on track to be completed this month, and start-up activities will be complete by the middle of next month, at a total project cost of $3.8 billion.
ConocoPhillips and its 50-50 partner Cenovus Energy Inc , the oil sands producer, are adding equipment allowing them to process 130,000 barrels a day more of heavy oil. It will lift the capacity of those grades to 240,000 bpd.
Oil traders have said the prospect of more demand as a result of the project has already narrowed the discount of the Canadian crude against benchmark light oil in the cash market.
