Videre Images by Jason Whiting.
Cenovus Energy reports the Lloydminster Upgrader and U.S. refineries are in recovery mode following the impact of recent extreme winter storms and severely cold temperatures on throughput.
Weather related issues as well as unplanned operational issues and third-party pipeline outages significantly reduced the company’s North American downstream throughput in December.
Cenovus provided an update on Jan. 8 noting the Lloydminster Upgrader and U.S. Borger Refinery in Texas are each expected to return to full rates by about the middle of January.
Cenovus’s vice president of Canadian downstream manufacturing and technical services Kerry Margetts spoke about the situation in Lloydminster before speaking to the Rotary club on Monday.
“Most of that announcement was about the U.S. We have a lot of refineries in the U.S. that aren’t used to that very cold weather so we do prepare for it and do the best we can,” said Margetts.
“We did get through it safely and our units are back up and operational.”
The update noted the Lloydminster Refinery has continued to run well through December and into January and the U.S. Lima Refinery in Ohio is now operating at full rates.
The Wood River Refinery in Illinois, currently operating at approximately 65 per cent capacity, is expected to continue to increase rates through the first quarter.
The revised estimated Q4 2022 throughput at Lloydminster downstream operations is expected to be approximately 90,000-95,000 barrels per day and about 370,000 to 380,000 bbls/day in the U.S.
As a result of these impacts, Q1 2023 downstream refinery throughput will be lower than anticipated.
If necessary, Cenovus will provide an update to its 2023 corporate guidance in February when its 2022 fourth-quarter and full-year results are announced.
