Aramco plans $18bn spend on US refining operations
HOUSTON, May 27, 2017
Oil giant Saudi Aramco is set to spend $18 billion over the next five years to expand its operations in the Americas, focusing on its wholly-owned oil refining unit in the US - Motiva Enterprises.
The Aramco move comes following announcements at the Saudi-US CEO Forum earlier this week, confirming its growth journey to make its Motiva unit into the safest and most profitable downstream business in the US.
"As a wholly-owned affiliate of Saudi Aramco, Motiva is expected to be the primary focus of its growth strategy throughout the Americas and is exploring opportunities to increase refining capacity, branch into chemicals, and expand its commercial operations, marketing and branded presence over the next five years," remarked Dan Romasko, Motiva’s president and CEO.
Motiva became a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco on May 1 with the split of the oil giant's 19-year partnership with Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
“With the joint venture separation behind us, there is a real sense of self-sufficiency at Motiva,” said Romasko.
“Our employees have embraced the changing culture, which has turned Motiva into a more agile organisation. We have given employees added responsibility, but at the same time empowered them to make decisions and be accountable for our results.”
The growth strategy follows a concerted effort to transform the performance of Motiva. Since 2014, Motiva has improved safety and reliability performance by nearly 50 per cent; captured significant value through improvements in refinery operations; and maximized the company’s end-to-end value delivery through its trading organization.
Additionally, the company expanded its headquarters in Houston, Texas and repatriated offshore back-office functions to a third-party service provider in Tulsa, Okla.
Motiva also recently completed an expansion of the Port Arthur Refinery’s largest hydrocracking unit and diesel hydrotreater, resulting in a 30 percent increase in capacity. An ongoing project with Northstar Terminals LLC to build a new marine terminal and related facilities at the Port of Port Arthur is expected to be complete in July 2017.
“Motiva has made significant strides over the last three years to reposition our business through focused improvement efforts and organic growth opportunities,” said Romasko.
“Our next chapter will be even more exciting as we expand our reach into new areas of growth and development,” he added.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Motiva refines, distributes and markets petroleum products throughout the US. Motiva owns and operates North America’s largest refinery in Port Arthur, Texas with a crude capacity of more than 600,000 barrels a day.
The company also operates the country’s largest lubricant plant for both consumer and commercial use.-TradeArabia News Service
