Ashland and Marathon

[KMJ1992]

Hey guys. Valvoline fan here. Ive heard in recent discussion that they get base oil from XOM or Shell usually. But i thought i read that they (Ashland) had a stake in the Marathon Garyville Refinery? Wouldn't it make more sense to get the majority of their oil from there? I'm sure they use multiple sources as needed, just curious. Lets not make this an A vs B thread, thanks.

 

[Linctex]

If I were an oil blender like Valvoline... I'd buy my stocks from the cheapest sources possible.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted By: Linctex

If I were an oil blender like Valvoline... I'd buy my stocks from the cheapest sources possible.

As long as those sources were of competitive quality. But since this stuff has to all go for the API standard my guess is its all pretty competitive.

 

[knerml]

Even though this refinery is one of the biggest in North America, I don't believe that the Marathon Garyville Refinery provides good quality base stock. That's because it refines sour crude oil, which is high in sulfur.

 

[KMJ1992]

Interesting. So mostly for fuel production then? I wonder why Ashland wanted in if that's the case. I supppse growth is growth.

 

[KMJ1992]

Also, is the high sulfur content due to the proccess they choose to use, or based on the crude? Not even fuel is allowed much sulfur anymore, what is the purpose of sour crude? Grease?

 

[MNgopher]

Sour Crude oil is the crude oil used in the refining process. Sour means it has more than 0.5% sulfur content. Refineries are typically setup to use crude oil with certain general types of crude oil in mind. Many refineries in the midwest US use sour crude, generally from Canada, as their basic feedstock. They use it because despite the costs to get the sulfur out of the oil, they can source the crude for much cheaper than sweet crude oil. And Linctex has got it right - as a blender, buy from the cheapest source that meets the quality requirements.

 

[Solarent]

Originally Posted By: KMJ1992

Hey guys. Valvoline fan here. Ive heard in recent discussion that they get base oil from XOM or Shell usually. But i thought i read that they (Ashland) had a stake in the Marathon Garyville Refinery? Wouldn't it make more sense to get the majority of their oil from there? I'm sure they use multiple sources as needed, just curious. Lets not make this an A vs B thread, thanks.

As far as I know, this refinery does not have a base oil plant. Most base oil producers will have a plant backwards integrated into their refinery. In some cases (like the PetroCanada base oil plant and most re-refiners) they are stand alone "refineries" which import VGO either via pipeline or railcar. Most fuel refineries do not produce base oil. If you are a Lubes N Greases subscriber you get a poster every year with base oil plant locations and their capacities - listed by the company that owns them. Some majors (like Exxon) also locate their blending facilities next to their base oil plants - the example I am thinking of is the Imperial Oil plant in Edmonton which is closing later this year - the primary reason for closing the blending plant is because they are also shutting off base oil production (GROUP I) at the Strathcona Refinery.

 

[PimTac]

Valvoline has split off from Ashland as of almost a year ago.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

Originally Posted By: PimTac

Valvoline has split off from Ashland as of almost a year ago.

Ashland used to be in a Joint venture with Marathon Pipeline, and way back Ashland has retail gas stations with Ashland branding.... Since then Ashland has be divesting itself... now it's just a "global specialty chemicals company" more like producing skin lotion.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: KMJ1992

Also, is the high sulfur content due to the proccess they choose to use, or based on the crude? Not even fuel is allowed much sulfur anymore, what is the purpose of sour crude? Grease?

many moons ago there was an oil strike around here that was the biggest since the pennsylvania fields opened up.(later FAR eclipsed by texas) ours was some of the first sour crude. it actually smelled like rotten eggs. the TX Sour crude can actually be yellow-ish. as a result of that find, a refinery was built here in town. at first they just stockpiled sour crude, until chemists at the refinery(originally the Solar Refinery) first developed the refining process for sour crude. that refinery is still in operation, producing 25% of the fuel sold in Ohio. (Solar->Standard Oil->SOHIO[Standard Oil of OHIO]->BP->Premcor->Valero->Husky)

 

[Nyogtha]

Ashland exited any stake in the petroleum refining business last decade, and spun off Valvoline over a year ago, citing wanting to pursue business interests that were less capital intensive. None of the current Marathon Petroleum refineries produce lube base stocks now. The Garyville refinery was never configured to produce lube base stocks. The Catlettsburg refinery shut down their lube base stock production operations last decade. What lube oil operations the Canton refinery was involved in ended decades ago.