The Delaware City Refinery, currently owned by Delaware City Refining Corporation, a subsidiary of
PBF Energy
PBF Energy Inc. is a petroleum refiner and supplier (Downstream (petroleum industry), Downstream operator) of unbranded transportation fuels, heating oils, lubricants, petrochemical feedstocks, and other petroleum products. Headquartered in Parsi ...
, is an
oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...
in
Delaware City, Delaware
Delaware City is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2010 census. It is a small port town on the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is the location of the Forts Ferry Cross ...
. When operational it has a total throughput capacity of ,
and employs around 570 individuals.
[
The refinery was commissioned in 1956 and ]Getty Oil
Getty Oil was an American oil marketing company with its origins as part of the large integrated oil company founded by J. Paul Getty.
History
J. Paul Getty incorporated Getty Oil in 1942. He had previously worked in the oil fields of Oklaho ...
operated it up until 1984, when Texaco
Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Indepe ...
bought Getty. In 1988, Star Enterprises, a company started when Saudi Aramco
Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...
bought half interest, took over the refinery until 1998, when Motiva Enterprises
Motiva Enterprises, LLC, is an American company that operates as a fully-owned affiliate of Saudi Aramco. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, it had a revenue of $500 Million . Motiva operates as a distributor of Shell and 76 branded gasoli ...
, a joint venture between Star (Saudi Aramco) and Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
, operated it. Motiva's operation was the most controversial, with many lawsuits resulting from an explosion and many federal emission regulations violations. Premcor Refining Group
Premcor (formerly NYSE symbol PCO) was a Fortune 500 oil refinery group based in Greenwich, Connecticut. It operated five refineries, which are located in Port Arthur, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Lima, Ohio; Hartford, Illinois; and Delaware City, ...
bought the refinery from Motiva in 2004, but Valero acquired Premcor a year later.
On 20 November 2009, the refinery was shut down permanently as part of cost-cutting measures by Valero Energy Corporation. Anticipated economic impacts of the closure include major reductions in tax revenue and retail sales for Delaware City, increased materials acquisition cost for petroleum products re-sellers and an increase to consumer gasoline prices in the longer term.
On 25 January 2010, Petroplus
Petroplus Holdings AG was Europe's largest independent oil refiner by capacity. When the now defunct company was first formed in 1993, it was known as Petroplus International N.V., and was based in the Netherlands. In August 1998, it was list ...
, the largest independent refining company in Europe, announced its interest in buying the refinery.
In June 2010, it was announced that the Delaware City Refinery was purchased by PBF Energy Partners for $220 million. The refinery was expected to reopen in Spring 2011.
References
{{reflist
Energy infrastructure completed in 1956
Delaware City, Delaware
Oil refineries in the United States
Energy infrastructure in Delaware
Buildings and structures in New Castle County, Delaware