(Reuters) Motiva Enterprises began restarting the second largest crude distillation unit (CDU) and other units after completing an overhaul at its 626,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the nation's largest, said people familiar with plant operations.
The 200,000-bpd VPS-4 CDU was shut on Sept. 30 for a planned overhaul, the sources said. The work was scheduled to finish in November.
Also restarting are the 49,000-bpd catalytic reformer 4 (CRU-4) and the lube oil hydrocracker 4 (LHCU-4), the sources said. Both were shut at the same time as VPS-4.
A Motiva spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment.
CDUs break down crude oil into feedstocks for all other units at the refinery. There are three CDUs at the Motiva refinery.
Reformers convert refining byproducts into reformate, which is added to unfinished gasoline to boost octane levels.
Hydrocrackers use hydrogen under high heat and pressure to convert feedstocks into more profitable products that also meet U.S. environmental standards.
