May 26, 2017 [OPIS] - As a wholly owned affiliate of Saudi Aramco, Motiva Enterprises said on Thursday that it is expected to be the primary focus of an estimated $18 billion growth effort throughout the Americas and is exploring opportunities to increase refining capacity, branch into chemicals, and expand its commercial operations, marketing and branded presence over the next five years.
This Motiva growth plan announcement follows the Saudi-U.S. CEO Forum held earlier this week. Motiva confirms it has embarked on a growth journey to become the safest and most profitable downstream business in the U.S.
“With the joint venture separation behind us, there is a real sense of self-sufficiency at Motiva,” said Dan Romasko, Motiva’s CEO. “Our employees have embraced the changing culture, which has turned Motiva into a more agile organization. We have given employees added responsibility, but at the same time empowered them to make decisions and be accountable for our results.”
The growth strategy follows a concerted effort to transform the performance of Motiva, the company said. Since 2014, Motiva has improved safety and reliability performance by nearly 50%; captured significant value through improvements in refinery operations; and maximized the company’s end-to-end value delivery through its trading organization.
Additionally, the company expanded its headquarters in Houston, Texas, and repatriated offshore back-office functions to a third-party service provider in Tulsa, Okla.
Motiva also recently completed an expansion of the Port Arthur Refinery’s largest hydrocracking unit and diesel hydrotreater, resulting in a 30% increase in capacity.
An ongoing project with Northstar Terminals to build a new marine terminal and related facilities at the Port of Port Arthur is expected to be complete in July.
“Motiva has made significant strides over the last three years to reposition our business through focused improvement efforts and organic growth opportunities,” said Romasko. “Our next chapter will be even more exciting as we expand our reach into new areas of growth and development.”
OPIS notes that Shell and Saudi Aramco finalized the split of Motiva assets in early May as planned. Saudi Aramco took full ownership of the Motiva Enterprises LLC name and legal entity, and Motiva’s Port Arthur refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, which includes a 40,000-b/d base oil manufacturing plant.
It also took over 24 distribution terminals, and the right to exclusively sell Shell-branded gasoline and diesel in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., plus the eastern half of Texas and most of Florida.
Shell took ownership of the 235,000-b/d Norco refinery, in St. Charles Parish, La., where Shell operates a chemicals plant, and the 230,000-b/d Convent refinery in St. James Parish, La.
Shell also acquired 11 distribution terminals and Shell-branded markets in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, part of the Florida panhandle and the northeastern U.S.
Headquartered in Houston, Motiva refines, distributes and markets petroleum products throughout the United States. Motiva owns and operates North America’s largest refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, with a crude capacity of more than 600,000 b/d. The company also operates the country’s largest lubricant plant for both consumer and commercial use.
Under exclusive, long-term brand licenses with Shell and Phillips 66 (for the 76 Brand), Motiva’s marketing operations support more than 5,200 retail gasoline stations. Motiva is wholly owned by affiliates of Saudi Aramco.
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