Hess Says Low Rates at Hovensa Refinery Driven By Economics
By Aaron Clark
Oct. 29, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Hess Corp. said low fluid catalytic
cracker rates at the Hovensa refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin
Islands, are driven by economics.
“More of it is discretionary economic” than operational,
Chief Executive Officer John Hess said during a conference call
with analysts and investors today. Maintenance also affected
capacity utilization rates, he said.
The Hovensa refinery, the third biggest in the Americas, is
a joint venture of Hess and state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela
SA. The plant can process 525,000 barrels a day, according to the
Energy Department.
Bigger refineries in the Americas are the Paraguana refining
complex in Venezuela, with more than 900,000 barrels a day of
capacity, and Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Baytown refinery in Texas, at
590,500 barrels a day.
