Number 4 - ExxonMobil in the UK

Major diesel-fuel expansion
helps meet marketplace needs
ExxonMobil is increasing diesel-production capacity in the
United States and Europe by about 6 million gallons a day,
an increase in production equivalent to the diesel produced
from four average-size refineries.
9
For automobiles, light pickup
trucks, mopeds and lawn
mowers, gasoline remains the
predominant fuel in many countries,
especially in the United
States. Yet in Europe, diesel is
becoming the fuel of choice for
automobiles, and worldwide it
is relied upon to run everything
from tractor-trailers, buses
and marine vessels to off-road
equipment such as backhoes,
threshers and locomotives –
even electrical power generators
in many developing countries.
While motor gasoline has
a higher global transportation
demand, diesel fuel leads in projected
demand growth.
ExxonMobil engineers are
busy preparing to keep pace with
this rising trend. In December, the
company announced projects
totaling more than $1 billion to
increase production of diesel fuel
by approximately 6 million gallons
(about 143,000 barrels) a
day at three refineries – Baytown
(Texas), Baton Rouge (Louisiana)
and Antwerp (Belgium). When
completed in 2010, these
major expansions will boost
ExxonMobil’s low-sulfur dieselproduction
capacity by more
than 35 percent at the U.S. sites
Story by Shelley Moore
and by more than 100 percent at
the European site.
This is equivalent to the diesel
production from four averagesize
refineries.
“People sometimes ask why
we aren’t building new refineries
to produce more fuel,” says
Brian Lawless, manager of global
project development, ExxonMobil
Refining & Supply. “Why build new
refineries when we can more efficiently
and more quickly expand
the ones we already have? Looking
at it another way, if you have a
growing family and need a bigger
house, does it make more sense
to keep the house and build
another, or add on to the one you
now have?”
Global growth for diesel
According to the International
Energy Agency (IEA), the market
for diesel fuel is growing about 3
percent a year in developed countries.
Growth in developing countries
is expected to be even higher.
“Diesel demand grows with
GDP [gross domestic product]
and the demand for more goods
and services,” says Steve Hart,
vice president, planning and
projects, ExxonMobil Refining &
Supply. “Diesel meets close to
90 percent of the commercial
trucking needs in the United
States and Europe.”
In Europe, the increased penetration
of diesel engines in lightduty
vehicles is putting pressure
on diesel production. According
to the European Automobile
Manufacturers’ Association, one
of every two new passenger
cars is a diesel. This ratio may
increase in the future.
“In fact, Europe’s demand for
all diesel fuels for all uses is more
than double the demand for gasoline,”
says Baudouin Kelecom,
fuels executive for Europe, Africa
and the Middle East. “This high
demand creates a significant
fuel-supply challenge; accordingly
imports are an important part of
Europe’s diesel supply today.”
Full use of existing facilities
Implementation of ExxonMobil’s
latest diesel-capacity expansions
began this fall at the company’s
two largest refineries in the
United States – Baytown and
Baton Rouge. Construction of
new diesel facilities is also beginning
at the Antwerp Refinery in
Belgium, the company’s second
largest in Europe. Chosen for
its size, central location and
Bill Heikkila (left) is the
project executive for the
diesel-fuel expansion
project at ExxonMobil’s
Baton Rouge Refinery,
and Mike Vavra is in
charge of constructing
a similar facility at the
company’s refinery in
Baytown, Texas.