Motiva Port Arthur Gasoline, Alky, and Coking Units Return to Normal Operations

Motiva Enterprises returned the gasoline-producing, alkylation and small coking units to normal operation at its 603,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, TX refinery, the nation’s largest, on Monday, said sources familiar with plant operations. Motiva’s media relations office declined to comment.

The 82,000 bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU 3) and the 18,000-bpd alkylation units were knocked out of production on Sunday by a malfunction, the sources said. The units began restarting on Sunday night. A control valve on the 54,000-bpd coker malfunctioned early on Monday but the unit did not shut down, the sources said. The coker is the smaller of two at the refinery.

FCCUs use a catalyst under high heat and pressure to convert gas oil to gasoline. Alkylation units convert refining by-products into octane-boosting components of gasoline. Cokers convert residual crude oil into feedstock for motor fuels and petroleum coke, a coal substitute.

Motiva is a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company.