Texas storage operator launches own crude processing facility to produce low-sulfur marine fuels ahead of 2020, reports Reuters.
50,000 bpd of low sulphur
A U.S. Gulf Coast fuel storage operator is launching its own crude processing facility to make 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) of low-sulfur fuels beginning in 2020.
Texas International Terminals plans to operate its own crude distillation unit (CDU) at a site in Galveston, Texas, producing bunker and gasoil for affiliate GCC Bunkers, which will supply crude and market the resulting fuels.
Competing with refinery giants
The previously undisclosed refining project, an unusual venture for a storage facility, will compete with big refinery operators such as BP Plc, Chevron and Exxon Mobil and startups such as Limetree Bay Refining LLC.
Very low-sulfur fuel demand
The plant aims to tap demand for very low-sulfur fuels (VLSFO)required beginning Jan. 1 for ocean-going vessels under an International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandate.
The IMO 2020 rule limits sulfur content to 0.5%, from 3.5%, to reduce air pollution.
Investment details undisclosed
Todd Sullivan, president of Texas International Terminals, declined to disclose the company’s investment in the small-scale refinery and storage-terminal additions.
The company expects to acquire low-sulfur Texas crudes for the operation and has already begun construction on the project.
The company operates a terminal with bunker storage capacity of 50,000 barrels at the plant site on the Galveston Ship Channel, and plans to add 750,000 barrels of fuel oil storage and 500,000 barrels of gasoil storage at the site, Sullivan said.
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Source: Reuters
