Petro-Canada Lubricants had good short-term and long-term news for base oil customers the past week. First, the company said it expects to repair damage from an Aug. 21 explosion at its Mississauga, Ontario, refinery within a month and without disrupting deliveries. It also stated that the planned closure of the fuels refinery that supplies feedstock for Mississauga will not affect base oil production there.
One of two production trains at the base oil plant has been sidelined since the explosion, which occurred during the final steps of restarting the facility after a weeklong shutdown caused by the mid-August blackout in the United States and Canada. The train that is still operating is producing approximately 6,300 barrels per day of base oil, half the plants capacity.
Senior Communications Advisor John Hamilton said Friday that the companys investigation of the explosion preliminarily has projected that it can repair damage and return to normal operations within four weeks.
Things are proceeding smoothly and we have enough supply to get us through that time-period, Hamilton said.
Hamilton added that the closure of the companys fuels refinery in nearby Oakville will not disrupt base oil operations in Mississauga. The company announced Sept. 3 that it will shutter the Oakville refinery by January 2005 in response to toughening low-sulfur fuel requirements. Before Oakville closes, Petro-Canada plans to upgrade and expand its fuels refinery in Montreal. Feedstock for the Mississauga base oil plant will then come from Montreal via a pipeline.
We remain committed to the lubricant business, Hamilton said. Well still be producing base oil in Mississauga. Well just be bringing the feedstock through a much longer pipeline.
Posted prices for base oils in the United States were unchanged this week. The price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at $29.21 per barrel yesterday, 38 cents lower than a week earlier.
Historic U.S. posted base oil prices and WTI and Brent crude spot prices are available for purchase in Excel format.