Pemex Shuts Large Crude Distillation Unit at Deer Park Refinery

Pemex (PEMX.UL) shut down the 270,000 barrel-per-day crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Deer Park, Texas, refinery on Monday because a process line ruptured, said people familiar with plant operations.

The DU-2 CDU, the larger of two at the 312,500 bpd refinery, provides 80% of feedstocks from crude oil to production units at the refinery. If it remains shut, other units will have to shut down, the sources said.

A spokesperson for the Mexican state-oil company did not reply to a request for comment.

Over the weekend, Pemex successfully restarted the 70,000-bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC), the sources said.

The FCC was shut by an Oct. 4 malfunction, according to the sources.

CDUs break down crude oil into hydrocarbon feedstocks for all other units at the refinery.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Marguerita Choy)