NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - Imperial Oil Ltd saidearlier this week it was unable to find a buyer for its refineryin Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and will instead convert the facilityinto a terminal operation.
The refinery, which employs some 400 staff and contractors,is Imperial's least-profitable operation, as it uses high-pricedimported crude oil. The company's other three refineries processcheaper Canadian crude.
Imperial, controlled by Exxon Mobil Corp, put therefinery up for sale more than a year ago and has had interestedparties but was not able to make a deal.
The refinery, the only one in Nova Scotia, is among severalon both sides of the Atlantic that operators have put up forsale, shut down, or threatened to close due to poor economics.Below is a list of these refineries.
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SHUT REFINERIES ================================================================DARTMOUTH, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA OWNER: Imperial Oil Ltd CAPACITY: 88,000 BPD Imperial said in June 2013 it was unable to find a buyer for itsDartmouth, Nova Scotia, refinery after putting it up on salemore than a year ago, and will instead convert the facility intoa terminal operation. The refinery is Imperial'sleast-profitable operation as it uses high-priced imported crudeoil. Imperial is controlled by Exxon Mobil Corp.
PORT READING, NEW JERSEY, USA OWNER: Hess Corp CAPACITY: 70,000 BPDHess shut down its Port Reading refinery at the end of February,2013, the second such facility the company was forced to shutterover the last year, marking the company's exit from the refiningand terminal business.
ARUBA REFINERY, ARUBA OWNER: Valero Energy Corp CAPACITY: 235,000 BPDValero decided to convert the refinery into a crude oil andrefined products terminal in September 2012 after failing tofind a buyer for the plant.
The refinery had been idled since March 2012 due to weakprofit margins since it processes heavy sour crudes it bought ata higher cost. Chinese oil giant PetroChina was saidto be among strong bidders for the refinery. ST. CROIX, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS OWNER: Hovensa LLC, a joint-venture between Hess Corp and state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela CAPACITY: 350,000 BPD Hovensa first reduced rates from 500,000 bpd and then shut therefinery in February 2012. The government of the U.S. VirginIsland objected to the shutdown and in April 2013 said it hadagreed to a 14-month sales process with Hovensa LLC, duringwhich time the company could use the plant as a terminal.
The refinery had been powered by fuel oil rather than cheapnatural gas because its isolation in the Caribbean mean gasimports are not available. That fact contributed to Hovensamaking a loss of $1.3 billion in the last three years of itsoperation and any future owner will have the same problem tocontend with.
MARCUS HOOK, PENNSYLVANIA, USAOWNER: Sunoco Inc, part of Energy Transfer Partners LP,Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, which is part owned byEnergy Transfer Partners. CAPACITY: 178,000 BPDSunoco shut the refinery in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, inDecember 2011, due to excess capacity and poor margins. SunocoLogistics then bought the refinery in April 2013 for $60 millionand plans to turn it into a natural gas liquids hubs to takeadvantage of the nearby Marcellus and Utica shale plays.
The company received no offers for the plant as a refinery.Sunoco is processing natural gas at the plant.
YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA, USA OWNER: Western Refining CAPACITY: 66,300 BPD Western Refining shut the refinery in September 2010 because ofpoor refining margins. The site was subsequently sold to PlainsAll American in December 2011 and is currently in use asa terminal.
EAGLE POINT, NEW JERSEY OWNER: Sunoco Inc, part of Energy Transfer Partners LP. CAPACITY: 145,000 BPDSunoco shut the Eagle Point refinery in November 2009, the firstof the casualties of weak demand and slim profit margins amongAtlantic Basin refineries. The site, which is connected underthe Delaware River to Sunoco's other sites, Philadelphia andMarcus Hook (see above), is a terminal with capacity to receivebarges of Bakken crude from Albany.
BERRE, FRANCE OWNER: LyondellBasell CAPACITY: 105,000 BPDIn January 2012, LyondellBasell mothballed the refinery insoutheastern France having been unable to find a buyer for theplant since it began a sales process in May 2011. CORYTON, ESSEX, UNITED KINGDOM OWNER: Petroplus CAPACITY: 175,000 bpdA joint-venture of UK Ltd, Vopak and Greenergy boughtthe refinery from Petroplus and converted it into a terminal inJune, 2012. The refinery had stopped processing crude in Maylast year after its estimated $1 billion price tag failed toattract buyers. TEESSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM OWNER: Petroplus CAPACITY: 117,000 bpdPetroplus idled the plant in April 2009.
PETIT-COURONNE REFINERY, NORMANDY, FRANCE CAPACITY: 161,000 bpdOWNER: PetroPlusPetroplus announced in April 2013 that it will shut the refineryafter bids to buy it were rejected as unfeasible by the plant'sadministrator.
REICHSTETT, FRANCE OWNER: Petroplus CAPACITY: 85,000 bpd Petroplus closed the refinery in eastern France in the secondquarter of 2011. The least profitable of the plants in thePetroPlus refinery stable, the refinery was converted to becomea terminal. DUNKIRK, FRANCEOWNER: Total SA CAPACITY: 150,000 BPDA French court authorized oil major Total to permanently closethe refinery in late October 2010 and proceed with plans todevelop non-refining activities on the site. WILHELMSHAVEN, GERMANY OWNER: ConocoPhillips CAPACITY: 260,000 bpd ConocoPhillips put the simple, hydroskimming refinery up forsale in July 2010. It was bought a year later by private Dutchcompany Hestya. It is currently being used as a terminal.CREMONA, ITALY OWNER: Tamoil CAPACITY: 90,000 bpd Libya's Tamoil shut the Italian refinery at the end of March2011 and said it would pursue plans to convert the plant to astorage site. ================================================================
REFINERIES FOR SALE ================================================================
MILFORD HAVEN, UNITED KINGDOM OWNER: Murphy Oil CAPACITY: 130,000 BPDU.S. oil firm Murphy Oil Corp said it would sell the plant tofocus on oil and gas exploration and its U.S. retail business.In its first quarter earnings, announced in May 2013, thecompany said it continues to look for a buyer.
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REFINERIES SAVED================================================================
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, USA CAPACITY: 330,000 BPDCURRENT OWNER: Philadelphia Energy Solutions FORMER OWNER: Sunoco Inc.Philadelphia Energy Solutions is the largest refinery on theU.S. East Coast and is a joint venture of Carlyle Group LP and Energy Transfer Partners, which bought its formerowner, Sunoco.
Sunoco and Carlyle reached a deal in the summer of 2012 tokeep the plant running with Carlyle overseeing daily operationswhile Sunoco retained a minority stake in return for itsrefinery assets. JPMorgan Chase & Co's commoditiesdivision would supply the refinery with crude and non-crudefeedstocks and purchase fuel produced by the plant for offtake.
Regional legislators, refinery unions and industry operatorslobbied against the plant's shutdown arguing that fuel shortagesin the East Coast after the plant's potential shutdown couldcreate fuel shortages and hurt U.S. national security.
TRAINER REFINERY, PENNSYLVANIA, USA CAPACITY: 185,000 BPDCURRENT OWNER: Monroe Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Delta AirLines FORMER OWNER: ConocoPhillips, which later spun off itsrefining and downstream arm Phillips 66 Delta bought the refinery from Conoco Phillips in spring of 2012in order to control its jet fuel costs, which had reached $12billion in 2011. The refinery has not yet become profitable ButDelta said it expects the plant to turn a profit of $75 millionto $100 million in the second quarter. It expects to use 50,000bpd of cheap shale oil from the Bakken formation in North Dakotaby the end of 2013.
Delta has a contract with BP Plc for crude suppliesand former owner Phillips 66 to sell or swap products other thanthe jet fuel that the airline needs.CRESSIER REFINERY, SWITZERLAND CAPACITY: 68,000 BPDCURRENT OWNER: Varo Energy Holding, a joint venture betweenVitol and Marcel Van Poecke, co-founder of PetroPlus, andfounder of AtlasInvest.FORMER OWNER: PetroplusVitol, the world's largest oil trader, formed the joint ventureto buy the refinery in June 2012, six months after Swiss-basedPetroplus filed for insolvency. The refinery was fullyoperational by July that year.
ANTWERP REFINERY, BELGIUM CAPACITY: 107,500 bpdCURRENT OWNER: Gunvor, Swiss-based trading houseSELLER: PetroPlusSwiss-based trading firm Gunvor, co-owned by Russian tycoonGennady Timchenko, bought the refinery in March 2012 frominsolvent Petroplus to expand its infrastructure footprint inEurope's largest oil trading hub. The purchase also providesGunvor with "bricks and mortar" assets, giving it a reason tohedge exposure to physical markets ahead of stringentregulations on derivatives trading.
INGOLSTADT REFINERY, GERMANY CAPACITY: 100,000 bpdCURRENT OWNER: Gunvor FORMER OWNER: PetroPlusGunvor bought the refinery from insolvent Petroplus in May 2012and began operating the plant that August. The refinery had beenin stand-by mode for seven months before the deal.
(Compiled by Selam Gebrekidan; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)