Exxon Shutting FCC at Baytown TX Refinery for Work

Exxon Mobil Corp began shutting down a 125,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) and a 21,000 bpd alkylation unit this week for planned work at its 560,500 bpd refinery in Baytown, Texas, according to energy market information firm IIR Energy.

IIR said on Tuesday that the shutdown began on Monday and the work would last 35 days. The maintenance was planned, and the duration is within the norm for FCC turnarounds, which generally last 35 to 48 days, according to a person familiar with the work.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) didn not immediately respond to requests for comment on the work.

Energy intelligence firm Genscape reported earlier on Tuesday that the FCCU showed decreased activity, with intermittent flaring seen from two flare towers near the unit since Monday.

U.S. Gulf Coast cash gasoline differentials were higher on Tuesday, but traders largely attributed the difference to prompt trade switching to October RBOB futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange rather than the Baytown turnaround, which had been anticipated.

(Reporting By Kristen Hays in Houston and Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York)