Fri 11 Jul 2008, 11:01 GMT

Total shuts units at Port Arthur refinery


U.S. bunker supplier closes down 9 units at its refining facility in Texas.



Total Petrochemicals USA has reported that it has shut down nine units at its 233,000 barrel per day refinery in Port Arthur.

The Houston-based bunker supplier closed down the units on Wednesday night following a notice filed with state pollution regulators. The company did not state the reason why the units were being shut.

According to the notice, which was filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, units 804, 805, 810, 819, 822, 823, 824, 825 and 836 will remain shut until July 12th.

Total Petrochemicals utilizes fuel oil from its Texas refinery to supply marine fuels in Port Arthur and Beaumont. The company - formerly known as Fina Oil and Chemical Company - acquired the refining facility in 1973 when its capacity was 54,000 barrels per day.

As well as producing transportation fuels, the refinery also produces asphalt and base chemicals. In a joint venture with BASF, Total Petrochemicals built the world’s largest single train naphtha steam cracker adjacent to the refinery.

The refinery was expanded in 2004 to include a new crude oil dock and gasoline hydrotreater.


Northern Pathliner alongside Bergen LNG vessel. Molgas completes LNG cool-down and bunkering for Northern Pathliner at Northern Lights terminal in Norway  

Operation carried out at Øygarden facility, with K Line and Integr8 Fuels in the supply chain.

Rendering of a G2 Ocean OHGC vessel. G2 Ocean expands fleet with six future-fuel ready gantry crane vessels  

Open hatch specialist adds vessels and jet sail technology as part of a broad fleet renewal programme.

CMA CGM Adventure vessel at Port of Mombasa. LNG-powered CMA CGM Adventure makes first call at the Port of Mombasa  

Kenya Ports Authority receives its first large LNG-fuelled container vessel.

Liam Blackmore, Lloyd's Register. Maritime trio shapes IMO safety guidelines for ammonia as marine fuel  

Real-world operational experience feeds directly into new IMO ammonia fuel safety framework.

Repsol industrial complex in Puertollano. Repsol starts large-scale renewable fuel production at second Iberian plant  

Spanish energy company's Puertollano facility adds 200,000 tonnes per year of renewable diesel capacity.

SD Aisemaht vessel. World's first dual-fuel methanol escort tug receives full class certification  

ABS grants certification to SD Aisemaht, built by Sanmar Shipyards for Canada's Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

CMB.Tech and TFG Marine signing. CMB.Tech raises TFG Marine stake to 15% and consolidates bunker procurement through joint venture  

CMB.Tech increases its equity stake in TFG Marine and commits its entire fleet’s bunker requirements to the joint venture.

XFuel demo plant in Mallorca, Spain. XFuel secures EUR 4.1m Catalonia grant for waste-derived marine fuel plant  

Spanish start-up wins funding to build a modular facility converting waste oils into low-carbon marine gas oil.

Liquefied biogas facility at Port of Gothenburg render. Construction begins on liquefied biogas facility at Port of Gothenburg  

Nordion Energi's new plant aims to open up Swedish biogas supply to shipping and other sectors beyond the gas grid.

Sun Princess ship-to-ship (STS) LNG bunkering operation. Axpo completes first LNG bunkering of cruise ship at port of Naples  

Sun Princess bunkered at Naples, marking the first LNG operation on a cruise vessel at the Italian port.