The U.S. Department of Energy has approved an emergency release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ExxonMobil, aiming to ease “logistical challenges” affecting crude oil deliveries to its Baton Rouge refinery, The Center Square writes
Up to 1 million barrels of crude oil is approved to be released from the SPR to help ExxonMobil restore refinery operations that were impacted by what the DOE describes as an offshore supply disruption. ExxonMobil is expected to return the borrowed oil, as well as additional barrels, to the SPR in the future.
ExxonMobil requested the exchange because of quality issues with its Mars crude, produced in the Gulf, and zinc contamination, Bloomberg reports. High levels of zinc can damage refinery equipment.
“An oil supply disruption has led to reduced operations at the Baton Rouge refinery, limiting production of transportation fuels,” DOE says. “The exchange is intended to ensure the maximum supply of refined fuel products in the Gulf Coast region while ExxonMobil resolves logistical challenges.”
ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge refinery is one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes in the world, processing roughly 520,000 barrels a day and manufacturing roughly 300 products, including motor gasoline, diesel, aviation gasoline, lubricating oils, waxes, petroleum coke, liquefied petroleum gas and chemical feedstock, according to its website.
