* Motiva to shut FCC again in 2014 for more boiler work -sources
* Plans hydrotreater work for July - sources (Adds Motiva no comment, details, background)
By Erwin Seba
HOUSTON, March 6 (Reuters) - Motiva Enterprises hasrescheduled a planned overhaul of a 200,000-barrel-per-day crudedistillation unit at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery until2015, the second time the work has been delayed, sourcesfamiliar with refinery operations said.
Motiva also plans to shut the 90,000-bpdgasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at PortArthur for a second time in 2014 to repair a leaking boiler,said the sources on Thursday.
The company, which is a joint venture between Royal DutchShell Plc and Saudi Aramco, has also scheduled a planned overhaul of a hydrotreater at the600,000-bpd Port Arthur refinery for July, the sources said.
A Motiva spokeswoman declined to discuss maintenance plansfor Port Arthur, the nation's largest refinery.
The planned overhaul of the 200,000 bpd VPS-4 crudedistillation unit had been originally scheduled for February.
However, it was rescheduled late last year for autumn 2014with a likely September start after two reviews found fault withthe refinery's readiness to carry out an complete overhaul of amajor unit.
The FCC was to be shut for a full overhaul at the same timeas VPS-4, which supplies gasoil for the FCC to convert intounfinished gasoline.
Because of the reviews, the refinery is not expected to beready for the giant overhaul of VPS-4 and the FCC until the fallof 2015, the sources said.
The refinery's managers are also concerned about theavailability of contractors who can perform the work. At least1,000 workers will be needed to work on VPS-4 alone, the sourcessaid.
While VPS-4 is shut, the refinery's other two crudedistillation units (CDU), which have a combined refiningcapacity of 400,000 bpd are scheduled to remain in operation.
The leaking FCC boiler led to a shutdown of the FCC forabout two weeks at the beginning of this year.
The boiler provides steam used to prevent the release ofcatalyst from the FCC into the atmosphere, as required byenvironmental regulations.
LIMITING DISRUPTION
The moisture from steam helps capture the fine powdercatalyst from being released through an exhaust stack. If steamproduction fails, the FCC has to be shut until steam can berestored.
The FCC will be shut later this year when the leaking boileragain fails to produce enough steam to capture the catalyst, thesources said.
That shutdown could come in the early spring, so as to avoidthe period of highest demand for gasoline in the late spring andsummer months.
Only repairs on the boiler are planned for this year, not afull FCC overhaul, the sources said.
The hydrotreater work has been on refinery's schedule forsometime, the sources said.
A hydrotreater uses hydrogen to remove sulfur from gasolinein compliance with environmental regulations. A CDU does theprimary refining of crude oil coming into a refinery andsupplies feedstock for all other production units. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and SophieHares)
