Sources familiar with company plans said that ExxonMobil Corp. is considering delaying the completion of its Beaumont, Texas, refinery expansion by up to a year to 2023 as oil demand is crushed by the impact of coronavirus.
However, the company declined to comment on the expansion project, which would add a 250,000 bpd crude distillation unit (CDU) to boost the capacity to 619,000 bpd.
The planned expansion would make the Beaumont refinery the biggest in the US, surpassing Motiva Enterprises’ 607,000 bpd refinery in Port Arthur, Texas if the Motiva plant does not expand before the Exxon Beaumont project is completed.
It was first formally announced in January 2019, taking advantage of new crude oil supplies from Exxon’s newly developed oil fields in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico.
Previously in April, Exxon stated that the “Growing the Gulf Initiative” spending of USD20 billion would be slowed down. The initiative will expand downstream manufacturing in Texas and Louisiana, including the Beaumont refinery expansion.
