Total Plans to Add Units to Its Port Arthur Refinery (Update1)
2008-02-12 15:05 (New York)
By Robert Tuttle
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — Total SA, Europe’s third-largest oil
company, said it plans to add new units to its refinery in Port
Arthur, Texas.
The expansion includes the addition of a 50,000 barrel-a-day
coker, a desulfurization unit and a vacuum distillation unit, the
company said in a release posted on its Web site. The $2.2
billion project is scheduled for commissioning in 2011.
The expansion will increase the refinery’s production of
ultra-low-sulfur diesel, which accounts for more than 80 percent
of the diesel used by trucks and cars in the U.S., by 3 million
metric tons (about 23 million barrels) a year, the release said.
The Total refinery can process 240,000 barrels of oil a day,
according to U.S. Energy Department and company data.
Coker units take the heaviest components of crude oil and
convert them into lighter components for making fuel. Vacuum
distillation units upgrade petroleum products into higher-value,
lighter fuels such as gasoline. Desulfurization units are
involved in removing sulfur from fuels.
–Editors: Joe Link, Kim Jordan
To contact the reporter on this story:
Robert Tuttle in New York at +1-212-617-3465 or
rtuttle@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dan Stets at +1-212-617-4403 or
dstets@bloomberg.net
