Bloomberg: ExxonMobil to delay startup of refinery in Beaumont

Bloomberg reported last week that ExxonMobil will delay startup of its refinery expansion in Beaumont by a year to 2023 “as the oil giant weathers low demand for petroleum products and seeks to save cash amid the covid-19 pandemic.” The project will make the Beaumont refinery the largest in the world, according to Bloomberg. Jeremy Eikenberry of Exxon said the company is “evaluating all appropriate steps to significantly reduce capital and operating expenses in the near term as a result of market conditions caused by the covid-19 pandemic and commodity price decreases,” but he declined to comment on individual projects.
The Beaumont refinery is expected to have capacity of 619,000 barrels per day to surpass Saudi Aramco’s Motiva plant in Port Arthur with capacity of 607,000 barrels per day. Bloomberg added, “A key reason for the expansion was to use crude from Exxon’s aggressive production ramp-up in the Permian Basin.” The Exxon refinery now is running at reduced rates because of lower demand for gasoline and jet fuel.