ExxonMobil announced it has completed commissioning of new units to produce ultra low sulfur diesel at its Baytown, Texas and Baton Rouge, LA refineries. This will enable ExxonMobil to increase the supply of ultra low sulfur diesel by over 3 million gallons a day from the refineries, and allow for reduced emissions from diesel consumption when used in modern engines.
“These projects are part of a series of global investments aimed at reducing the sulfur content of diesel fuel,” said Sherman Glass, president, ExxonMobil Refining & Supply. “Together, they will help ensure future supplies of ultra low sulfur diesel products and enable the use of advanced technology diesel engines, resulting in improved air quality.”
In December 2008, ExxonMobil announced plans to invest over $1 billion in three refineries to increase supply of ultra low sulfur diesel. The projects, located in the United States and Belgium, required construction of new hydrotreater units at each facility, as well as modification to the existing facilities. In the United States, the two projects provided more than 3,000 construction jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact in the Baytown and Baton Rouge communities.
Completion of commissioning activities in Antwerp is expected later this year.
Ultra low sulfur diesel is commonly used to run everything from tractor-trailers, buses and marine vessels to off-road equipment such as backhoes, threshers and locomotives.
