Just One More Dot To Connect --

Updates

April 23, 2012: Saudi Arabia needs CO2 for EOR in its old, declining fields. See first comment below. 

 

Original Post

Link here to Minyanville.

Minyanville asks the question: which refinery in the US is about to become the biggest refinery -- within the next month?

Data points:

• Trainer, COP -- about to close
• Girard Point, Sunoco -- about to close
• Marcus Hook, Sunoco -- about to close
• Port Arthur, Saudi Refining/Shell -- about to become the biggest in US; among 10 largest in the world

How did this happen? First, increased oil production

• Eagle Ford
• Permian Basin
• Bakken 
• Athabasca Oil Sands near Alberta, Canada

Second, Seaway Pipeline reversal (Enbridge and Enterprise Products Partners)

• will add significantly to vast quantity of oil moving to Port Arthur
• reversal set for May 17, 2012

Port Arthur, Sabine, Texas

• undergoing massive expansion
• capacity will more than double to 600,000 bopd
• will become largest in US; surpass XOM's Baytown by approx 40,000 bopd
• world's largest: Jamnagar, Gujarat, India: 1.24 bopd 
• Port Arthur expansion: joint venture between Saudi Refining and Shell
• Saudi Refining: a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian national oil company, Saudi Aramco

Serendipity, the third dot

• expansion plans drawn up 6 years ago
• completion will coincide with Seaway Pipeline reversal

Other implications

• imports of crude oil into the Gulf Coast region expected to plummet by 40% by 2016
• imports will decrease almost 2 million bopd to 5 million bopd
• that will take a lot of crude oil tankers off the high seas

Serendipity!

Of all the refiners in the world (XOM, COP, Total, Shell, Saudi, CVX), I find it so interesting that one of the joint partners at Port Arthur is Aramco. Who wudda thought?