HOUSTON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Tesoro Corp said on Tuesday the planned shutdown of one of the catalytic reformers at its 100,000 bpd Los Angeles refinery was 'an economic decision' that would not affect current product output.
The reformer, which boosts the quantity and quality of gasoline, is scheduled to be shut between Dec. 1 and Dec. 3, according to a notice filed on Tuesday with Los Angeles-area pollution regulators.
No time frame has been announced for the length of the unit's shutdown, said Sarah Simpson, Tesoro's vice president of corporate communications.
'It is an economic decision,' Simpson said in an email when asked if the unit was being shut for maintenance work.
'The planned shutdown will not impact production and it will not change the current levels of products manufactured by the refinery,' she said.
California gasoline demand began falling in late 2007 due to high retail prices. The slide has continued as the U.S. has been gripped by a deep economic downturn.
Wholesale prices have plummeted on the West Coast as crude oil prices have fallen off in the past few months.
On Tuesday, the outright price for wholesale gasoline in the Los Angeles market fell 9.9 cents in trading driven by expectations demand will continue to fall, dealers said.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
((erwin.seba@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713 210 8508; Reuters Messaging: erwin.seba.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: REFINERY OPERATIONS/TESORO LOSANGELES (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 646-223-5546) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The reformer, which boosts the quantity and quality of gasoline, is scheduled to be shut between Dec. 1 and Dec. 3, according to a notice filed on Tuesday with Los Angeles-area pollution regulators.
No time frame has been announced for the length of the unit's shutdown, said Sarah Simpson, Tesoro's vice president of corporate communications.
'It is an economic decision,' Simpson said in an email when asked if the unit was being shut for maintenance work.
'The planned shutdown will not impact production and it will not change the current levels of products manufactured by the refinery,' she said.
California gasoline demand began falling in late 2007 due to high retail prices. The slide has continued as the U.S. has been gripped by a deep economic downturn.
Wholesale prices have plummeted on the West Coast as crude oil prices have fallen off in the past few months.
On Tuesday, the outright price for wholesale gasoline in the Los Angeles market fell 9.9 cents in trading driven by expectations demand will continue to fall, dealers said.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
((erwin.seba@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713 210 8508; Reuters Messaging: erwin.seba.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: REFINERY OPERATIONS/TESORO LOSANGELES (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 646-223-5546) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.