Valero hastens timeline on Port Arthur RD plant
Adds details behind shorter timeline.
Valero plans for a new renewable diesel plant in Port Arthur, Texas, to enter operations in the first half of 2023, ahead of its previous expectation for a second-half 2023 startup.
The new Texas site, DGD 3, is expected to increase renewable diesel production capacity by 470mn UGS/yr. The company is partnered in the Port Arthur plant and its other renewable diesel plants with Darling Ingredients.
Valero is also investing in a 400mn USG/yr expansion at its St Charles renewable diesel plant DGD 1 in Norco, Louisiana, that is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year. That plant primarily uses cooking oil, distiller's corn oil and rendered animal fats for the production of the renewable fuel, which is especially coveted in markets with low carbon fuel programs. Work crews from that expansion project, called DGD 2, were held over to work on the structurally similar DGD3, which helped explain the accelerated timeline, said Valero senior vice president of alternative fuels Martin Parrish.
"I think one thing you have to remember is DGD 3 is pretty much a carbon copy of DGD 2, so that helps us," Parrish said. "I mean, all the major equipment, we changed a little bit, but just tweaks, so we had a lot of the engineering done sooner than you typically would have."
Concrete and structural steel is currently being put in place at DGD 3, in part because Valero had orders for steel in place before prices for the commodity surged during the pandemic, Parrish said.
Following both projects, Valero's production capacity for renewable diesel is expected to be around 1.2bn USG/yr.
The company posted record income of $248mn in its renewable diesel segment for the second quarter, eclipsing the previous record of $203mn set in the first quarter.
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Brazil, France launch €1bn program to protect Amazon
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Baltimore bridge collapse to raise retail fuel prices
Baltimore bridge collapse to raise retail fuel prices
Houston, 27 March (Argus) — The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, is more likely to increase regional gasoline prices than diesel due to additional freight costs and certain route restrictions. Suppliers in the region have so far signaled that the effect on broader markets will be minimal, but regional prices will likely rise, especially as peak summer demand season begins with Memorial Day weekend in late May. The bridge closure could pose more problems for gasoline supply than diesel, since gasoline cannot be transported through the Fort McHenry (I-95) and Baltimore Harbor (I-895) tunnels — the two other major roads that cross the Patapsco River at Baltimore — while there are no restrictions on diesel, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA). Fuel wholesaler Global Partners said yesterday that it would like to see hours of service waivers for trucking in the region to minimize fuel supply disruption to customers, but the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is yet to issue one. Elevated retail prices are likely to be limited to the immediate Baltimore area but could spill over into neighboring markets should trucking markets remain tight due to rerouting, market sources told Argus . Fuel markets in eastern Maryland can be supplied by PBF's 171,000 b/d Delaware City, Delaware, refinery and two further plants in Pennsylvania — Monroe Energy's 190,000 b/d Trainer refinery and PBF's 160,000 b/d Paulsboro refinery. To the north, United Refining runs a 65,000 b/d plant in Warren, Pennsylvania, and along the Atlantic coast Phillips 66 operates the 259,000 b/d Bayway refinery in Linden, New Jersey. PBF, Monroe and United did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the bridge collapse is affecting refinery operations. Phillips 66 declined to comment on commercial activities. Still, the five nearby refineries — representing all the Atlantic coast's 850,000 b/d of crude processing capacity — are unlikely to see their operations curtailed by limits in shipping products to Maryland. With no refinery in the state of Maryland, most fuels are delivered to Baltimore by Gulf coast refiners on the Colonial Pipeline. Global Partners, which operates a terminal just west of the collapsed bridge, said yesterday it is primarily supplied by the pipeline and expects product flows to continue. Several terminals in the Baltimore Harbor and the nearby Port Salisbury can also receive small vessels and barges of road fuels from Delaware and Pennsylvania, according to the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA). The Port of Baltimore — which remains closed since the collapse — took delivery of 24,000 b/d of gasoline and under 2,000 b/d of distillates from barges and small vessels in 2019, about three percent of the Atlantic coast's refining capacity. "A closure of the Port of Baltimore while the Colonial Pipeline is open would not significantly disrupt fuel supply," the MEA wrote in a 2022 analysis of liquid fuels supply in the state. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Ethanol constraints minor on Baltimore closure: Update
Ethanol constraints minor on Baltimore closure: Update
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Ethanol constraints minor from Baltimore port closure
Ethanol constraints minor from Baltimore port closure
Houston, 27 March (Argus) — Ethanol flows in the US northeast may only see minor near term constraints following the closure of the Port of Baltimore due to the collapse of a bridge at the mouth of the waterway. Producers and other market participants expect longer local transit times for trucks carrying hazardous materials — including ethanol — because of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which carried nearly 12.4mn cars and trucks in 2023, according to Maryland state data. This will lead to higher associated costs, but market sources say the region's supply chain flexibility, rail access and available stocks should mitigate near-term ethanol supply interruptions. Ethanol rail deliveries into the Baltimore market are expected to increase, offsetting the loss of barge supply for the duration of the port's closure. Railroads Norfolk Southern and CSX have rail access at the Port of Baltimore. US east coast ethanol stocks in March are at their highest monthly average since April 2020 at 8.76mn bl, according to the Energy Information Administration. By Payne Williams Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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