Delek lets contract for Krotz Springs refinery

Delek US Holdings Inc. has let a contract to a division of E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. to license technology for 74,000-b/sd refinery in Krotz Springs, La.

As part of the contract, DuPont Clean Technologies will supply its proprietary technology licensing and engineering services for a 6,500-b/sd STRATCO alkylation unit to enable the site to generate low-sulfur, high-octane, low-RVP alkylate with zero olefins, improving the quality and quantity of the refinery’s gasoline pool to meet increasingly strict clean fuel standards, DuPont said.

The unit also will allow the refinery to increase its production volume of gasoline while producing multiple grades of summer fuel, according to the service provider.

DuPont disclosed neither a value of the contract nor timeframe for the project’s completion.

The contract award, however, does follow Delek’s January announcement that it was building a 6,000-b/sd alkylation unit to add product flexibility and increase margin potential at the Krotz Springs refinery (OGJ Online, Jan. 9, 2018).

According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, addition of the new alkylation unit would increase gasoline production at the refinery to 44,000 b/sd from 38,400 b/sd while simultaneously reducing output of lower-value products to 8,700 b/sd from 11,100 b/sd.

Previously estimated at an overall cost of $103 million, the now $113-million alkylation project is scheduled to be completed during first-quarter 2019, Delek said in a November presentation to investors.

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].