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Motiva Port Arthur Refinery

Another serious shutdown at Shell Motiva refinery

Jul 15th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Reuters article published Tue Jul 15, 2014 under the headline: “Damaged heater likely shut distillation unit at Motiva refinery”

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(Reuters) – A heavily damaged heater on a newly commissioned 325,000 barrel per day (bpd) crude distillation unit is the likely cause of a unexpected shutdown that may last up to five months at Motiva Enterprises 600,000 bpd Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, according to experts.

In late April, Motiva, a joint-venture of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Saudi Aramco, started the new crude distillation unit (CDU), which was the centerpiece of a 5-year, $10-billion project to make the refinery the largest in the United States. read more

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Motiva Port Arthur refinery reaches throughput milestone – sources

Jul 3rd, 2014
by John Donovan.
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“If it had been built better, if it had been designed better, it could be running more crude…”

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Extracts from a Reuters article by Erwin Seba published by The Chicago Tribune on 3 July 2014

HOUSTON (Reuters) – The nation’s largest refinery hit a throughput milestone last week, processing 615,000 barrels in one day for the first time since a series of setbacks that followed its $10 billion expansion, sources familiar with operations said. The 2.5 percent increase in crude oil intake one day in late June, trumpeted in a company email, showed the continuing impacts of a troubled start-up after the expansion, the sources said. “If it had been built better, if it had been designed better, it could be running more crude,” said one of the sources. A Motiva official declined to comment. read more

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Discovery ensues in Motiva explosion suit

Oct 21st, 2013
by John Donovan.
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According to the lawsuit, on July 31, 2011, Carrell was working at the Motiva facility when an explosion occurred, causing him to suffer bodily injuries.

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October 21, 2013 2:02 PM
By David Yates

Discovery continues to dominant litigation brought by Jasper County resident Tommy Carrell Jr., who sued Motiva Enterprises for alleged injuries he received in an explosion that occurred in July 2011 at the Port Arthur refinery.

As previously reported, the suit was filed Feb. 5 in Jefferson County District Court. motiva

Court records show the latest filing in the suit was a certificate of discovery filed Aug. 27.

The document shows Motiva served Carrell with its second request for production. read more

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Problems at Motiva plant

Sep 16th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Petrodollars: A lot of smart oil people caught up in problems at a Motiva plant

By News Desk: September 16, 2013

A big expansion project at the Port Arthur, Texas refinery owned by Motiva–the Shell-Saudi joint venture–has been far from the success story envisioned by the two partners. In this week’s Oilgram News column Petrodollars, Janet McGurty looks at the problems there.

Motiva’s Port Arthur refinery expansion woes have people wondering how it could all go so wrong for a group of companies with so much expertise.

The refinery, which was expanded from 325,000 b/d to 600,000 b/d, is owned by Shell and Saudi Aramco. read more

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Shell’s oil sands deliverer becomes downstream boss

Sep 13th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Abbott also takes on a headache in the form of the company’s Motiva U.S. refining joint venture operation, where a new refinery unit faces piping and vibration problems .

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Thu Sep 12, 2013 1:10pm BST

By Andrew Callus

(Reuters) – Shell is to make John Abbott head of its fuels and chemicals business, pitching the deliverer of its Canadian oil sands expansion project into an industry debate over whether the “downstream” business he will run still fits with oil and gas extraction.

A 53-year-old Briton who joined Europe’s top oil company straight from university in 1981, Abbott is credited with bringing Royal Dutch Shell’s Athabasca oil sands expansion project in Canada on stream in the period 2008-2012. read more

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SHAMBLES AT MOTIVA PORT ARTHUR REFINERY

Aug 23rd, 2013
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan

Anyone who has read the postings made on this website in recent years by insiders working on the Motiva Refinery expansion project should not be in the least surprised by the series of serious mishaps following the restart, which taken together, can only be described as a complete and utter shambles.

Troubled Motiva refinery, biggest in U.S., faces lengthy 2014 work: sources

MOTIVA PORT ARTHUR REFINERY: ANOTHER SHELL PROJECT HUMILIATION

Motiva Enterprises is jointly owned by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Saudi Aramco. read more

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Troubled Motiva refinery, biggest in U.S., faces lengthy 2014 work: sources

Aug 22nd, 2013
by John Donovan.
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The biggest U.S. oil refinery could shut its main crude distillation unit for up to three months next year to replace a vibrating pipe that prevents the 325,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) unit from running at full capacity, sources familiar with operations said. That would be another blow to the Motiva Enterprises, 600,000-bpd plant since the $10-billion (U.S.)refinery, in Port Arthur, Tex., opened last year. Motiva is owned by Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco.

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ERWIN SEB: HOUSTON — Reuters: Published

The biggest U.S. oil refinery could shut its main crude distillation unit for up to three months next year to replace a vibrating pipe that prevents the 325,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) unit from running at full capacity, sources familiar with operations said.

That would be another blow to the Motiva Enterprises, 600,000-bpd plant since the $10-billion (U.S.)refinery, in Port Arthur, Tex., opened last year. Motiva is owned by Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Fire hobbles Motiva oil refinery, biggest in U.S.

Aug 20th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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Sources said refinery managers spoke of their frustration on Monday with problems that have plagued the expanded plant.  “It was a bad weekend for us,” said one source. “We’re all feeling snake-bit. It just seems like we get up and going and then something else goes wrong.”

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Tue Aug 20, 2013 2:28am IST

* ‘Feeling snake-bit’
* Second fire in week
* Vibration problem lingers

By Erwin Seba

PORT ARTHUR, Texas, Aug 19 (Reuters) – A fire at the largest oil refinery in the United States has knocked out more than half of its output for at least two weeks, the latest in a string of mishaps following a $10-billion expansion at the Motiva plant in Port Arthur, Texas.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc – which owns the refinery with Saudi Aramco – said the fire on Saturday, the second in a week, slowed and shuttered units at the 600,000 barrel-per-day plant and hurt production. read more

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Exclusive: Largest U.S. refinery to run below capacity for months

Aug 16th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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A new piping problem may force the newest crude distillation unit at Motiva’s Port Arthur refinery, the largest plant in the United States, to run up to 75,000 barrels-per-day below capacity through fall of next year.

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By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON | Fri Aug 16, 2013 12:45pm EDT

(Reuters) – A new piping problem may force the newest crude distillation unit at Motiva’s Port Arthur refinery, the largest plant in the United States, to run up to 75,000 barrels-per-day below capacity through fall of next year.

Sources familiar with refinery operations said one of the pipes taking crude oil into the 600,000 bpd refinery’s new CDU has suffered continuous vibration problems when it runs at or near full capacity for more than five months. read more

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Motiva Port Arthur refinery shuts down after power outage

Apr 15th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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By Barbara Powell
Bloomberg News

Motiva Enterprises LLC’s Port Arthur, Texas, refinery is completely shut down after losing power yesterday, a person familiar with operations said.

There isn’t a timeline for restarting the plant, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The refinery is the largest in the U.S. with a capacity of 600,000 barrels a day.

Gulf Coast: Refineries expanded, but not constructed

Entergy Corp. restored electricity to the three plants in Port Arthur, owned by Motiva, Total Petrochemicals USA Inc. and Valero Energy Corp., which account for 1.08 million barrels a day of refining capacity. read more

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Motiva Port Arthur Restart Delayed Until Next Week – Source

Dec 21st, 2012
by John Donovan.
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Published December 21, 2012 by Dow Jones Newswires

Motiva Enterprises LLC most likely will not be able to restart for a few more days a main processing unit at its refinery expansion in Port Arthur, Texas, a person familiar with the refinery’s operations said Friday.

Motiva has been struggling to restart the 325,000-barrel-a-day refinery expansion’s crude distillation unit since the unit went down in early July. The $10 billion expansion was to bring the combined refinery’s capacity to 600,000 barrels a day and make it the largest in the U.S. and one of the 10 largest in the world. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Troubled Motiva refinery crude unit shut by small fire

Dec 13th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:41pm EST

* Repairs to fractured pipe could take several days, sources say

* 325,000 barrel per day crude unit was in process of restarting

* New crude unit had previously been shut due to corrosion issue

* Gasoline prices jump on fire, pare gains after damage report

By Erwin Seba

PORT ARTHUR, Texas, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Motiva Enterprises aborted the restart of a major new crude oil unit at its Port Arthur, Texas, plant after a fractured pipe caused a small fire late on Tuesday, the latest glitch to bedevil the country’s biggest refinery. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell CFO: Confident US Government Will Approve Keystone XL Pipeline

Nov 20th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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By Selina Williams: Published November 20, 2012 by Dow Jones Newswires

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) is confident the U.S. government will approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline extension that will carry crude from western Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast, its chief financial officer Simon Henry said Tuesday.

“We remain confident the U.S. government will take a balanced view…and allow the full extension to proceed,” Mr. Henry told a Canadian energy event in London.

The re-election of President Barack Obama has revived hopes the oil pipeline will gain government approval after environmentalists were instrumental in getting the scheme blocked last year. read more

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Shell nearly there on Pearl, Port Arthur restart early 2013

Nov 1st, 2012
by John Donovan.
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LONDON | Thu Nov 1, 2012 5:29am EDT

Nov 1 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Finance Director Simon Henry said the company was “nearly there” in ramping up to full output at its Pearl Gas to Liquids (GTL) facility in Qatar and that the company was “on track” to restart the 325,000 barrels-a-day damaged Port Arthur refinery unit in the United States.

He was speaking at a presentation of Shell’s third-quarter results.

SOURCE

LONDON | Thu Nov 1, 2012 5:21am EDT read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

A big mess at Motiva and why Gulf Coast refiners are making a killing

Oct 29th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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While Chevron’s Richmond refinery has been making the news lately with a very visible incident, our attention has been drawn to less noticed recent events in America’s biggest refining center on the Gulf Coast, where what was to become the country’s largest refinery also ran into a spot of trouble.

You’d think that if you had spent 5 years and over $10 billion building a new refinery you might get to run it a few months before you had to shut it down for repairs. Not so the Motiva Port Arthur refinery expansion, which is essentially a new refinery bolted onto an old one. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell greenlights halved Louisiana-to-Texas crude oil pipeline

Jul 13th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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Thu Jul 12, 2012 3:16pm EDT

(Reuters) – A new crude oil pipeline from a key terminal in Louisiana to refineries near Port Arthur, Texas, will be built at about half the size envisioned late last year, Shell Pipeline LP said on Thursday after securing customer commitments for the project.

The Westward Ho Pipeline, which will carry crude oil from St. James, Louisiana, to Gulf of Mexico refiners just across the Texas border, will have an initial capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, the subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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