Valero’s US shutdown to tighten heavy viscosity base oils

10 November 2009 22:16  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The shutdown at Valero’s Paulsboro refinery in New Jersey will squeeze an already tight supply of heavy viscosity base oils, industry sources said on Tuesday.

The 11,000 bbl/day base oil portion of the refinery will be down for 21 days from December to January, the US refiner said.

The maintenance is due to a problem with the scrubber on the 55,000 bbl/day fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit and is expected to last from late November until mid January, Valero said.

While the FCC is down, Valero said it would also shut the remainder of the Paulsboro complex for maintenance, which was expected to last three weeks.

The refiner does not expect any supply issues for most grades of base oils, although the heavy neutrals could be tight in 2010.

Heavy viscosity base oils have been trading at more than $3.00/gal ($885/tonne, €593/tonne) due to tight supply in the US, according to data from global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

($1 = €0.67)

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By: Heather McGuire Doyle
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