World's Top 21 Largest Oil Refineries -- OGJ

by David Rachovich

World's Largest Refineries (minimum capacity of 400,000 b/cd) 

Rank	Company	Location	Crude Capacity, barrels per calendar day (b/cd)
1.	Paraguana Refining Center*	Cardon/Judibana, Falcon, Venezuela	940,000
2.	SK Innovation	Ulsan, South Korea	840,000
3.	GS Caltex Corp.	Yeosu, South Korea	760,000
4.	Reliance Petroleum Ltd. [merged with RIL since 2009]	Jamnagar, India	660,000
5.	ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Co.	Jurong/Pulau Ayer Chawan, Singapore	605,000
6.	Reliance Industries Ltd. [RIL]	Jamnagar, India	580,000
7.	S-Oil Corp.	Onsan, South Korea	565,000
8.	ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Co.	Baytown,** Texas, USA	560,500
9.	Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco)	Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia	550,000
10.	Formosa Petrochemical Co.	Mailiao, Taiwan	540,000
11.	ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Co.	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA	502,500
12.	Hovensa LLC	St. Croix, Virgin Islands, USA	500,000
13.	Marathon Petroleum Co. LLC	Garyville, Louisiana, USA	490,000
14.	Kuwait National Petroleum Co.	Mina Al-Ahmadi, Kuwait	466,000
15.	Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd.	Pulau, Bukom, Singapore	462,000
16.	BP PLC	Texas City, Texas, USA	451,250
17.	Citgo Petroleum Corp.	Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA	440,000
18.	Shell Nederland Raffinaderij B.V.	Pernis, Netherlands	404,000
19.	Sinopec	Zhenhai, China	403,000
20.	Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco)	Rabigh, Saudi Arabia	400,000
21.	Saudi Aramco-Mobil	Yanbu, Saudi Arabia	400,000

Notes: OGJ data show that Marathon Petroleum Co. LLC moved from No. 17 to No.13 on the list during 2011 – please see the previous post "World's Top 21 Largest Oil Refineries – OGJ," Feb 19, 2011. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has 1.24 million barrels per day of crude processing capacity [i.e. No. 4 Jamnagar + No. 6 Jamnagar, above], the largest at any single location in the world – please see RIL's website here – D.R. For 2011, OGJ's survey shows total capacity of 88,055,552 bc/d in 655 refineries. For 2010, OGJ's previous survey shows total capacity at more than 88.2 million b/cd in 662 refineries, an increase of 1 million b/cd over the figure for 2009 of 87.2 million b/cd for 661 refineries. OGJ's refinery survey for 2008 listed a global capacity of 85.6 million b/cd in 655 refineries. – Please read Warren R. True and Leena Koottungal, "Global Capacity Growth Reverses; Asian, Mideast Refineries Progress," OGJ, Dec 5, 2011; "Global Capacity Growth Slows, But Asian Refineries Bustle," OGJ, Dec 6, 2010. South Korea is home to three of the ten largest crude oil refineries in the world – SK Innovation's Ulsan (No. 2), GS Caltex's Yeosu (No. 3) and S-Oil's Onsan (No. 7), according to OGJ data above. Hess Corporation said in a statement on Jan 18, 2012, the Hovensa LLC refinery (No. 12 above) in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, a joint venture between Hess and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, will be shut down, after the refinery saw continued losses over several years. Following the shutdown, the complex will operate as an oil storage terminal---please see Hess website – D.R.

*The Paraguana Refining Center (Centro de Refinacion Paraguana/CRP) or Complex is the result of the merger in 1997 of three refineries: the Amuay refinery, the Cardon refinery and the Bajo Grande refinery, and currently considered the world's second largest refinery complex, after the Jamnagar complex (No. 4 Jamnagar + No. 6 Jamnagar, above) in India---please see notes above. The Paraguana Refining Center has the nominal capacity to refine 955,000 barrels of crude oil per day. -- D.R

**Update 1: Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Saudi Aramco became co-owners of the largest U.S. refinery when a new crude distillation unit at their joint-venture Motiva Enterprises Port Arthur, Texas, plant received oil for the first time. The 325,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) atmospheric crude distillation unit that started processing combines with existing crude units to give Motiva's Port Arthur, Texas, refinery a total crude oil refining capacity of 600,000 bpd, said Shell Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry during the company's first quarter earnings call. With the startup of the new Port Arthur crude unit, Exxon Mobil Corp's Baytown, Texas, refinery becomes the second-largest refinery in the United States---please see "Motiva Port Arthur refinery becomes U.S. largest - Shell," Reuters, Apr 26, 2012. Update 2: But by far the biggest refining story in North America in 2012 centered on the massive expansion at Motiva Enterprise LLC's Port Arthur, Tex., refinery. The 325,000-b/d, $10 billion expansion, largest at a US refinery in nearly 40 years and designed for feedstock flexibility, was dedicated on May 31, raising capacity to 600,000 b/d and making it the largest US refinery. On June 9, 2012, however, the new crude distillation unit sprung leaks traced to massive corrosion; a fire ensued and the expansion was shut down. Motiva has since traced the problem to faulty design. The unit will not restart before the end of first-quarter 2013, if then---please see Warren R. True and Leena Koottungal, "Asia, Middle East lead modest recovery in global refining," OGJ, Dec 3, 2012 - D.R.)

Source: Oil & Gas Journal, Dec 5, 2011

(For the outlook for Europe's refiners, please see "Europe’s refiners fall on hard times" - http://FT.com - Oil & Gas http://on.ft.com/xQoYU0 Also, please see "Top 10 Largest Refining Companies in Asia," Feb 13, 2012. Breaking News: On August 25, 2012, a massive blast at Venezuela's largest oil refinery, the 645,000 b/d Amuay refinery (part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, please see table and notes above), on Paraguana peninsula, has left at least 39 people dead and dozens others injured. A gas leak is being blamed for the blast. Update: Please see my post "World's Top 21 Largest Oil Refineries -- OGJ," OGJ, Jan 6, 2013. -- D.R.)

North Dakota Surpasses OPEC Member Ecuador in Oil Production

By Joe Carroll, Bloomberg, Jan 10, 2012
North Dakota oil production surged 42 percent to 510,000 barrels a day in November, exceeding the output of OPEC member Ecuador, as energy explorers accelerated drilling in the Bakken Shale formation.

The state’s daily crude output topped a half-million barrels for the first time during the month, North Dakota’s Oil and Gas Division said today in a statement. North Dakota’s 6,300 wells produced enough oil to displace imports from foreign suppliers such as Iraq or Colombia, Lynn Helms, division director, said in the release [Helms added that a half a million barrels a day represents about 10% of U.S. production. Please see a press release from ND Oil and Gas Division, Jan 10, 2012 -- D.R.].

Oil producers including EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) and Continental Resources Inc (CLR). have spurred a five-fold increase in North Dakota’s oil output by using intensive drilling practices to tap the Bakken, a geologic formation that stretches from southern Alberta to the northern U.S. Great Plains. It’s estimated to hold as much as 4.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil in North Dakota and Montana, according to a 2008 report by the U.S. Geological Survey.

 “This is big news for the state and the country,” Helms said. “Oil production in the state has increased anywhere from 8,000 to 40,000 barrels a day every month since June.”

Production will continue to increase as drillers hone their techniques, Andrew Steinhubl, co-leader of consulting firm Bain& Co.’s North American oil and gas practice, said in a Jan. 6 interview from Houston.

Rising Crude Production

In the Bakken formation alone, crude production rose 56 percent in November to 443,425 barrels a day from a year earlier, state figures showed. Bakken oil accounted for 87 percent of the state’s total November output.

Continental, the Enid, Oklahoma-based oil company controlled by billionaire Harold Hamm, is the largest leaseholder in the Bakken shale region, with 901,000 acres, based on third-quarter 2011 data compiled by Bloomberg Industries. Hess Corp. of New York and Denver-based Whiting Petroleum Corp. are second and third with 900,000 acres and 680,000 acres, respectively.

Bakken crude is a low-sulfur variety preferred by refiners not equipped to handle heavier, more corrosive types of oil. Bakken crude rose 1.5 percent to $97.97 a barrel today at the Clearbrook, Minnesota, hub, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price has increased 15 percent in the past year.

Ecuador, with 500,000 barrels of daily output in November, was the smallest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to data from the International Energy Agency in Paris (Also, please see my post "World's Top 23 Crude Oil Producers, November 2011/Notes" -- D.R.).

To contact the reporter on this story:Joe Carroll in Chicago at jcarroll8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tina Davis at tinadavis@bloomberg.net  (Full story)

(North Dakota produced a record 152.9 million barrels of crude in 2011, up more than 35 percent from the previous record of 113 million set a year earlier. Daily production was up to a record 534,000 barrels per day in December 2011---please see Grand Forks Herald, Feb 8, 2012. For the North Dakota oil ranking, please see Aaron and David Rachovich, "United States: Top 8 Crude Oil Producing States, 2006-Feb.2011." Update: North Dakota has overtaken California as the third-largest oil-producing state in the nation---please see my post "Five States Accounted for about 56% of Total U.S. Crude Oil Production in 2011." Update 2: Crude oil output in North Dakota reached a record high in February [2012] as a mild winter boosted activity in the Bakken shale prospect, bringing the state closer to overtaking Alaska as the second-largest oil producer in the country. North Dakota crude oil production rose by about 12,000 barrels per day (bpd), to more than 558,000 bpd, data from the state regulator showed [...], affirming the state's position as the third-largest producing state in the union after Texas and Alaska---please see Reuters, Apr 11, 2012. Update 3: North Dakota passed Alaska in March 2012 to become the second-leading state in crude oil production, trailing only Texas---please see my post "North Dakota Tops Alaska in Oil Production, Trailing Only Texas." Operators increased North Dakota's Bakken production from less than 3,000 barrels per day in 2005 to over 230,000 barrels per day in 2010. The Bakken's share of total North Dakota oil production rose from about 3 percent to about 75 percent over the same period. North Dakota produced an average of 307,000 barrels of crude oil per day in 2010 and comprised about 5.6 percent of the nation's total crude production. For North Dakota's oil production in historical perspective, please see my post/remarks here -- D.R.)

World's Top 15 Natural Gas Proven Reserve Holders, Jan 1, 2012 -- OGJ

by David Rachovich

Estimated Proved Reserves of Natural Gas

Rank	Country	Proved reserves (billion cubic feet), Jan 1, 2012	Proved reserves (billion cubic feet), Jan 1, 2011	Proved reserves (billion cubic feet), Jan 1, 2010	Share of total, Jan 1, 2012
1.	Russia	1,680,000	1,680,000	1,680,000	24.9%
2.	Iran*	1,168,000	1,045,670	1,045,670	17.3%
3.	Qatar*	890,000	895,800	899,325	13.2%
4.	Saudi Arabia*	283,000	275,200	263,000	4.2%
5.	United States	272,509	244,656	244,656	4.0%
6.	Turkmenistan	265,000	265,000	265,000	3.9%
7.	United Arab Emirates*	215,035	227,900	214,400	3.2%
8.	Venezuela*	195,100	178,860	175,970	2.9%
9.	Nigeria*	180,458	186,880	185,280	2.7%
10.	Algeria*	159,000	159,000	159,000	2.4%
11.	Indonesia	141,060	106,000	106,000	2.1%
12.	Iraq*	111,520	111,940	111,940	1.7%
13.	China	107,000	107,000	107,000	1.6%
14.	Kazakhstan	85,000	85,000	85,000	1.3%
15.	Malaysia	83,000	83,000	83,000	1.2%
World total		6,746,751	6,647,341	6,609,346	100.0%
Total OPEC**		3,330,137	3,211,152	3,182,829	49.4%

Notes: OGJ's annual look at worldwide gas reserves shows an increase to 6,746.8 trillion cubic feet/tcf from 6,647.3 tcf in last year's survey. Total gas reserves for OPEC are up nearly 4% from a year ago. Reported gas reserves climbed by 12% in Iran to 1,168 tcf and declined in Libya by 3% to 52.8 tcf. As of Jan. 1, 2012, OPEC's gas reserves totaled 3,330.1 tcf, or 49% of the worldwide total. Dry natural gas proved reserves in the United States were estimated at 272.5 tcf for 2009, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. EIA also reported that proved reserves of wet gas, which includes natural gas plant liquids, increased by 11% in 2009 to 284 tcf. This is their highest level since 1971. Shale gas development in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania drove the increase in proved reserves of natural gas. Louisiana led the nation in wet natural gas proved reserves additions with a 77% increase of 9.2 tcf owing primarily to development of the Haynesville shale. Please read Marilyn Radler, "Worldwide Oil Production Steady in 2011; Reported Reserves Grow," OGJ, Dec. 5, 2011. According to the OGJ, Australia is not in the Top 15 this year? -- D.R.

* OPEC member. Data for Kuwait and Saudi Arabia exclude one-half of the reserves in the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone. Neutral Zone contains 1,000 bcf, i.e. 1 tcf, of gas reserves.

**Including also Angola, Ecuador, Libya, Kuwait and the Neutral Zone.

Sources: "Worldwide Look at Reserves and Production [Table]," Oil & Gas Journal, Dec, 2011; "Special Report – Worldwide Look at Reserves and Production," OGJ, Dec 6, 2010.

(The United States has surpassed Turkmenistan as the world's fifth largest natural gas proven reserve holder and please see notes above. Also, please see Aaron and David Rachovich, "World's Top 22 Natural Gas Proven Reserve Holders, Jan 1, 2011 – OGJ," and (update) "World's Top 24 Natural Gas Proven Reserve Holders, Jan 1, 2013 -- OGJ." According to OGJ, Oman has proven reserves of natural gas of 30 tcf as of Jan. 1, 2012 -- unchanged from Jan. 1, 2011. Also, please see "World's Top 23 Proven Oil Reserves Holders, Jan 1, 2012 -- OGJ," the world's largest oil and gas companies by the combined production volumes of oil and natural gas: "Mid 2012 Ranking of the World's Biggest Oil & Gas Companies -- Forbes" and the world's largest oil and gas companies by oil and gas reserves, oil and gas production, product sales and refinery distillation capacity, i.e. PIW rankings: "[Petroleum Intelligence Weekly Ranks World's Top 50 Oil Companies -- ] Suncor Up, ConocoPhillips Down in PIW`s New Top 50 Oil Rankings." – D.R.)