Port Arthur Refinery

Motiva refinery

Location of the Port Arthur Refinery in Port Arthur, United States
Country	United States
Province	Texas
City	Port Arthur, Texas
Coordinates	29°53′6″N 93°57′45″W / 29.88500°N 93.96250°W / 29.88500; -93.96250
Refinery details
Owner(s)	Saudi Aramco
Commissioned	1902 (1902)
Capacity	630,000 bbl/d (100,000 m3/d)
No. of employees	1,450

The Motiva refinery is an oil refinery located in Port Arthur, Texas. It is the third largest oil refinery in the United States.

The first processing units of the Port Arthur Refinery were constructed in 1902 by the Texas Company, later Texaco. The roots of this refinery can be traced to the Spindletop oil boom near Beaumont, Texas. It came into operation in 1903. Port Arthur is in eastern Texas on the Gulf of Mexico. At certain points during its lifespan it was considered the flagship refinery of Texaco.

On January 1, 1989, Saudi Refining, Inc. purchased 50% of the Port Arthur refinery (and two others) from Texaco to form a joint venture with Texaco called Star Enterprise. In 2001, Texaco was purchased by Chevron. Shortly thereafter Chevron's interest in this refinery (and two others) was sold to Shell on February 13, 2002. This new joint venture was called Motiva Enterprises LLC. Until 2017, the Motiva Port Arthur Refinery was a joint venture with a 50% ownership between Shell Oil Products US and Saudi Refining Inc. Shell Oil Products is part of Royal Dutch Shell. Saudi Refining is part of Saudi Aramco. Approximately 1,200 people are employed at the site.

In March 2016, the joint venture between Shell and Saudi Aramco was set on course to dissolve, and this refinery is now controlled by Saudi Aramco effective May 1, 2017.^[1]

The completion of the expansion of the Port Arthur Refinery, officially celebrated on 31 May 2012, increased its crude oil capacity to 600,000 barrels per day – making it the largest refinery in the US. The expansion added 325,000 barrels per day of capacity. As of May 2016 the refinery has reached a maximum capacity of 630,000 barrels per day.

This refinery can process a wide range of crude inputs, including tight oil and heavy, sour, and acid crudes.^{[citation needed]} Initially, the crude it processed came from Saudi Arabia, but it has since expanded to work with other countries, based on where the oil is available. The refinery supplies gasoline, diesel, aviation fuels, and high quality base oils to customers in the US.