LyondellBasell updates potential plans for Houston refinery site

LyondellBasell Industries Holdings BV is proceeding with a potential plan to transition subsidiary Houston Refining LP’s (HRL) soon-to-be-shuttered 268,000-b/d Houston full-conversion refinery into a hydrogen production site as part of the proposed US government-funded HyVelocity regional hydrogen hub.

While LyondellBasell will continue to develop the conversion of HRL’s refinery to participate in the HyVelocity hub, “there are still a lot of steps that need to be taken” before the company reaches final investment decision [FID] on the matter, Peter Vanacker, LyondellBasell’s chief executive officer, told investors in a quarterly earnings call.

Confirmation of LyondellBasell’s possible participation in HyVelocity follows $1.2 billion of $7-billion in federal grants awarded by US President Joe Biden’s administration in mid-October to the project, which is sponsored by ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Air Liquide SA, Mitsubishi Power Americas, AES Corp., Sempra Infrastructure, and Ørsted AS (OGJ Online, Oct. 13, 2023).

As development of the Houston refinery-to-hydrogen site remains ongoing, Vanacker said the company will continue to evaluate other projects in line with its circular and low-carbon solutions business involving reuse of the refinery’s existing hydrotreaters, including:

• Using LyondellBasell’s proprietary MoReTec advanced recycling technology to upgrade and purify mixed plastic waste into pyrolysis oil that can be used as feedstock for new plastic materials.
• Using MoReTec advanced recycling technology to upgrade and purify mixed plastic waste into pyrolysis gas that can be shipped via existing pipeline connections from the refinery to LyondellBasell’s nearby olefins manufacturing complex in Channelview, Tex., for use as feedstock in that site’s steam crackers.
• Revamping the refinery’s existing hydrotreaters to process renewable-based feedstocks for production of renewable hydrocarbons that also could be transported to Channelview for use as feedstock to the site’s steam crackers.

With dedicated teams currently analyzing the various potential projects for the future use of the refinery, the company will proceed with normal routes for FID once those studies are completed, according to Vanacker.

Previously slated for closure by yearend 2023, LyondellBasell said in May 2023 that it would delay ceasing operations at the Houston refinery until 'no later' than the end of first-quarter 2025 (OGJ Online, May 31, 2023).