ExxonMobil will invest US$1bn expanding UK refinery

EXXONMOBIL has made a final investment decision to spend more than US$1bn expanding its Fawley refinery in the UK.

The investment is the biggest the company has made in the UK for nearly 30 years, and much higher than the US$650m it originally estimated it would spend on the project in September last year. The company announced today that it will spend more than US$1bn increasing production of ultra-low sulfur diesel by almost 45%, or 38,000 bbl/d.

The project includes a hydrotreater unit to remove sulfur from fuel, supported by a hydrogen plant that the company says will help improve the refinery’s overall energy efficiency. Detailed engineering and design is underway, with construction set to begin in late 2019, and start-up scheduled for 2021.

“ExxonMobil continues to invest in the Fawley refinery and chemical plant, Britain’s largest integrated facility,” said Bryan Milton, President of ExxonMobil Fuels and Lubricants Company. “This investment will make Fawley refinery the most efficient in the United Kingdom”.

The company says the investment will help reduce the UK’s reliance on foreign diesel, with more than half of supplies imported in 2017.

The decision follows an announcement earlier this month to invest in an expansion project at its Singapore refining and petrochemical complex to increase yields of higher-value products.