Element Fuels Holdings, a Dallas-based company, announces its intention to reactivate a project to build a new oil refinery in the United States (the first in almost half a century). This ambitious project is planned for Brownsville, Texas and has been previously presented by John Calce through his companies ARX Energy and JupiterMLP, although previous attempts resulted in bankruptcy.
Financial challenges for new oil refinery
Element Fuels is seeking funds for the initial phase of the refinery, which will process 50,000 to 55,000 barrels of naphtha per day into gasoline. This first phase is estimated to cost approximately US$1.2 billion, according to Calce.
[post_relacionado]In addition, the company is in discussions with the U.S. Department of Energy . to access financing through the Inflation Reduction Act.
John Auers, CEO of Refined Fuels Analytics, noted that the biggest difficulty for a new refinery is financing. In addition, it projected that gasoline demand will peak in 2030-2031, while demand for middle distillates, such as diesel and jet fuel, will peak after 2040. Calce mentioned that, if necessary, the Element Fuels refinery could be transformed into a petrochemical plant or export refined products to markets with lower adoption of electric vehicles.
Refining plans and capacity
Previous attempts under the JupiterMLP brand failed for a variety of reasons, said Calce, who now leads Element Fuels, a company based in Addison, Texas. Element Fuels has a state permit authorizing construction of the plant. The refinery will process shale oil from fields in West and South Texas, Calce explained in an interview, stressing that the United States has significant refining capacity for light crude.
Element also has plans to build a power plant power plant at the same on the same site, with a capacity of 165 MW per day, fueled by hydrogen generated by the refinery. The company is in negotiations with lending partners and has a long-term purchase agreement with a partner in the energy sector, although Calce did not disclose their names.
In addition to the refinery, Element Fuels has a long-term vision in mind to diversify its production. They are exploring emerging technologies that would transform the plant into an advanced petrochemical center, ensuring the project’s viability in the face of changes in global energy demand.
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Source: pgjonline
Photo: Shutterstock