Delek’s El Dorado refinery increases light crude capability

Delek US Holdings Inc. said it has boosted light crude oil processing capabilities at its 80,000-b/d refinery in El Dorado, Ark., following the completion of a planned maintenance turnaround in February.

The company completed a few projects to improve processing flexibility at El Dorado during the turnaround, including the replacement of the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracking reactor and a debottlenecking of the crude pre-flash tower to increase its ability to process lighter crudes by 10,000 b/d, according to the company’s May 7 8-K filing for first-quarter 2014 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a March presentation, Delek US told investors El Dorado’s turnaround also included a two-phase revamp to El Dorado’s diesel hydrotreater designed to increase ultralow-sulfur diesel production to 34,000 b/d from a previous 30,000 b/d.

As a result of the scheduled maintenance work, the El Dorado refinery now has a capacity to process almost exclusively light crude compared with a light crude throughput of about 66,000 b/d during 2013, the company said.

For the month of March, El Dorado ran near its nameplate capacity of 80,000 b/d using primarily light crude, according to Uzi Yemin, president and chief executive officer of Delek US.

Delek US assumed operational control and management of the El Dorado refinery in April 2011 after acquiring majority equity interest in Lion Oil Co., the refinery’s former owner, Delek US announced in a release dated Oct. 11, 2011.