Jun 6, 2012

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

The following table lists unplanned and planned production outages at U.S. refineries as reported by Dow Jones Newswires. The information is compiled from both official and unofficial refining sources and doesn’t purport to be a comprehensive list.

Motiva Enterprises LLC’s newly-commissioned crude unit at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery will be shut for up to three more days before restarting it, a source familiar with the refinery said on June 6. The 325,000-b/d unit was taken off-line early on June 4 after leaks occurred because of loose valves. read more

From an insider…

Relieved in Port Arthur

Well, finally…. not the announcement that we all wanted to see, but good enough for us.

Tom Purves…GOOD RIDDANCE.

He is going to Upstream as an Operations Excellence VP. What a fall for this guy!!! We had hoped it would be a retirement notice. He now can slither off down I-10 and go ACT like he is adding value to Shell’s Upstream. This gets him finally out of Motiva and out of Port Arthur.

Tom, your legacy is a joke. You leave us nothing. This project ended up being overspent ( $12B, not $10B as Shell says in the media) and 2 years past due. read more

Replacing the traditional ribbon cutting, officials turn a symbolic valve to signal the opening of Motiva’s expansion project in Port Arthur. It’s a joint venture of Shell and Saudi Aramco. Photo: Guiseppe Barranco / The Beaumont Enterprise

Motiva upgrade makes it largest U.S. refinery

By Emily Pickrell,By Emily Pickrell: Houston Chronicle

Published 08:23 p.m., Thursday, May 31, 2012

PORT ARTHUR – With the turn of a ceremonial valve Thursday, dignitaries marked the startup of an expanded Motiva refinery – underscoring Royal Dutch Shell‘s commitment not to imitate rival oil giants that have spun off their refining operations. read more

Reuters: Motiva expansion cost “in range of” $10 billion: Saudi Aramco CEO

PORT ARTHUR, Texas | Thu May 31, 2012 2:37pm EDT

(Reuters) – Saudi Aramco SDABO.UL Chief Executive Khalid Al-Falih said the total cost of expanding the Motiva Enterprises MOTIV.UL Port Arthur, Texas, refinery to 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) was “in the range of” $10 billion, double its original estimate.

The Port Arthur refinery is the largest investment Saudi Aramco, which is a 50-50 partner with Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) in Motiva, has made outside the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Al-Falih told reporters on Thursday. read more

By Moming Zhou – May 20, 2012 6:45 PM GMT+0100

Motiva Enterprises LLC reported emissions at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, according to a filing with statement regulators.

The emissions started at 9 a.m. yesterday and ended at 9 a.m. today local time, the filing showed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Moming Zhou in New York at [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at [email protected]

SOURCE

FROM OUR ARCHIVES…

Motiva eventually pleaded no contest to negligent homicide in 2003 and the CEO issued an apology. Motiva was ordered to pay a $10 million fine and plead guilty to criminal environmental charges.

Posted 16 May 2005

Delaware flexes legal muscle in a 2001 death at a refinery owned by Houston oil outfit

By LISE OLSEN

Only Shell and its refining companies came close to BP’s death toll for the decade. Shell Oil Products, predecessor Equilon Enterprises and sister company Motiva Enterprises together recorded 11 deaths.

Federal law allows prosecutors to go after employers whose willful violation of workplace safety leads to a death — but it almost never happens.

There have been no federal criminal prosecutions of employers for homicide in workplace deaths under that law in at least a decade in Texas. read more

Motiva Port Arthur HCU shut by fire -filing, company

HOUSTON May 13 (Reuters) – A lube oil hydrocracking unit was shut on Saturday at Motiva Enterprises’ 600,000 barrel per day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, after a fire, according to a notice filed with Texas pollution regulators.

No injuries were reported due to the fire, a Motiva spokeswoman said in a statement. The company declined to identify the unit involved.

The fire broke out in a heater check valve, according to the notice filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. read more

They would target the individuals they wanted to get rid of and then they would pressure them to accept the severance package.

FROM A POSTING ON OUR SHELL BLOG BY “oldwhitemale” on Mar 26th, 2012

I recently read on this website about the employee at Motiva Port Arthur who has a pending lawsuit against Motiva Port Arthur for age discrimination.

I’ve seen Motiva Norco use this same practice for years. The people that were usually offered severance packages were white male employees over 50 years old. They informed them that they were poor performers or redundant in their job position and that if they didn’t accept the severance package they would likely be terminated at a later date and not be offered the severance package. read more

By Aaron Clark – Mar 21, 2012 8:34 PM GMT

U.S. Gulf Coast gasoline strengthened after Motiva Enterprises LLC reported a power failure at its Port Arthur refinery in Texas.

“Operations followed stabilize, slow down, and shutdown procedures to minimize emissions” after an electrical storm knocked out power, the company said in a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The failure caused emissions from a fluid catalytic cracker, the filing showed. read more

Posting on Shell Blog by Golden Triangle Watchman 2012/03/08 at 12:01 pm

As you can see, another power outage at Motiva Port Arthur. Going to really be interesting to watch this new albatross come up on rates and then have this 100 year old power supply keep shutting it down. Tom, why didn’t you fix the electrical system when you had the opportunity? Too busy counting your stock options I guess. Let Jeff do that for you and try to make a difference in your final days.

Tue Feb 7, 2012 6:27pm GMT

HOUSTON Feb 7 (Reuters) – Motiva Enterprises’ 285,000 barrel per day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery was hit by a brief power interruption on Tuesday morning, according to sources familiar with refinery operations.

Among the units affected by the power interruption was the refinery’s gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit, the sources said.

The Motiva Port Arthur refinery is a 50-50 joint venture between Saudi Refining and Shell Oil Co, Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s U.S. unit. read more

Hamilton said the industry, represented by Shell Oil Co., also hasn’t budged on health and safety provisions the union wants in its new three-year contract.

By Dan Wallach, [email protected] (409) 838-2876

Published 02:46 p.m., Monday, January 30, 2012

The national oil contract bargaining is heading toward a midnight Tuesday deadline, but the two sides seem far apart on pay and safety rules, a local union member said today.

Eric Hamilton, chairman of the workmen’s committee at the Motiva Enterprises Port Arthur refinery, said the industry side to date has offered a pay increase of between 1.5 percent and 2 percent a year. read more

By Dan Wallach [email protected] (409) 838-2876

Monday, January 2, 2012

Motiva Enterprises Port Arthur refinery is aiming for completion of its massive Crude Expansion Project, worth at least $7 billion. The project sought to more than double the size of the refinery to a daily capacity of 600,000 barrels of product.

Refinery spokeswoman Verna Rutherford said although some units are still under construction, other units have been completed and are in the process of being handed over to operations at the refinery, with product-in-tank in the first quarter of 2012. read more

Jill Davis, Media, Issues and Crisis Manager for Shell Oil Company has confirmed the authenticity of this Motiva Statement – June 14, 2011

A Dow Jones Newswire article published Friday, June 10, 2011 (below), discussed the future source of crude oil supplies for Motiva Enterprise’s Port Arthur, Texas, facility.  The article referenced a source who indicated that Saudi Arabia will be the sole supplier of crude oil for the expanded facility.  In response to this assertion, Motiva reiterates that no sole-source supply arrangements have been made for the Port Arthur refinery.  The company will continue reviewing its various supply options for a cost-efficient source of crude. read more

Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:16pm GMT

* De-bottlenecking to boost capacity after project

* $5 billion expansion to be complete by Q1 ’12

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON, June 13 (Reuters) – Motiva Enterprises LLC is already preparing to expand the capacity of its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery beyond 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), which the plant will reach early next year when a giant construction project is completed, according to refinery sources.

A Motiva spokeswoman declined to comment on the refinery’s long-term plans.

Motiva has also begun tying in units built in the past four years as part of that $5 billion capital project to boost the refinery’s capacity beyond the current 285,000 bpd, the sources said. read more