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“Total” finishes preparing the American “Port Arthur” refinery to return to work within days

March 18, 2024

The French company “Total Energy” finished preparing the American Port Arthur refinery to operate within days, and this came after it was disabled earlier this month, and the gasoline-producing fluid catalytic cracking unit – which is located among the largest American refineries – faces several problems starting in November 2023.

The production capacity of the production unit in the American Port Arthur refinery is about 238 thousand barrels per day, and the refinery is expected to be operated by the end of this week. Total Energy plans to restart the small coking and distillation units in the American Port Arthur refinery, and this comes after the operation of the fluid catalytic cracking unit. Gasoline producing.

The catalytic cracking unit for gasoline-producing fluids was closed by the French company. It was also closed due to a leak, in addition to installing a clamp. This was completed on Thursday, March 14, 2024. The cessation of the catalytic cracking unit resulted in the cessation of the two coking units – their production capacity is about 40 One thousand barrels per day – and once the coking unit is running, the distillation unit will work.

The French company succeeded in restarting two processing units at the Port Arthur refinery on January 13, 2023, after they stopped working on January 11, 2024. The refinery’s crude oil distillation and vacuum distillation units were closed, and they were closed after a malfunction in the gasoline-producing fluid catalytic cracking unit.

The malfunctions began in 2023, and the current year witnessed a malfunction at the beginning of January, as Total Energy announced the operation of the large crude oil distillation unit No. 1 and the large vacuum distillation unit No. 2. The production capacity is about 76 thousand barrels, and the work was completed on Friday, January 12, 2024.

The malfunction that occurred in the liquid catalytic cracking unit that produces gasoline led to a decrease in production, and Total Energy submitted a notification to the environmental authorities in the state of Texas. The production capacity of the crude oil distillation unit is 150 thousand barrels per day.

The refinery made several repairs that took 3 months in the liquid catalytic cracking unit that produces gasoline, and the suffering that the refinery is experiencing was due to its inability to reach production with all its production capacity, and since the power outage on January 16, the refinery did not return to normal rates until February 21, 2024. I came back after the power outage.

The two units broke down on March 7, 2024, and the crude oil distillation and vacuum distillation units at the Port Arthur Oil Refinery were converted to raw materials before sending these materials to other units in the refinery. The crushing unit resorts to using fine powder for the purpose of converting gas oil to gasoline by relying on heat and pressure. High, and the unit converts the remaining raw material into raw materials through which it can be used in the production of motor fuel or petroleum char, and can be relied upon as an alternative to coal.