(Adds details on upcoming work, integration plan)
HOUSTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Motiva Enterprises' Convent, Louisiana, refinery plans to begin the permanentclosure of the main gasoline-producing unit on Oct. 1, 2016, aspart of a project to integrate operations with Motiva's refineryin Norco, Louisiana, according to sources familiar with thecompany's plans.
Motiva has also scheduled a two-month overhaul of the largecrude distillation unit at the Convent refinery to begin inMarch 2016, the sources said. The refinery also plans tooverhaul a heavy oil hydrocracker in March 2017.
Motiva has wavered in the timing for closing the 92,000barrel per day gasoline-producing FCCU at the 235,000 bpdConvent refinery, according to the sources. For much of thisyear, the FCCU was expected to be shuttered in 2017.
The 130,000 bpd CDU, called VPS 1, will be shut for Marchand April 2016 to complete the overhaul. During the same timework will be done on the vacuum tower bottoms section of the45,000 bpd heavy oil hydrocracker, called the H-Oil Unit. Therest of the H-Oil Unit will be overhauled in March 2017.
Motiva, which is co-owned by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Saudi Aramco, is building the three-pipelineMaurepas system that will bring advantaged crude to the Norcorefinery and connect the production systems at the two plants.
Gas oil produced by the Convent refinery will be sent to112,000 bpd FCCU at the 238,000 bpd Norco refinery.
The company will also expand by 30,000 bpd the hydrocrackingunit at the Norco refinery. The Norco hydrocracker currently canprocess 40,000 bpd of gas oil produced by crude distillationunits. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama andMeredith Mazzilli)
