ConocoPhillips to Install Its S Zorb™ Sulfur Removal Technology at Wood River Refinery
Houston, November 18, 2005 -- ConocoPhillips [NYSE:COP] today announced it plans to install its proprietary S Zorb™ Sulfur Removal Technology (SRT) at its Wood River, Ill., refinery, representing the fourth company-owned site to utilize the gasoline desulfurization technology. The new 32,000 barrels per day (BPD) S Zorb unit, which is being designed for a flexible slate of feedstocks, is targeted for completion in early 2007.
The largest refinery in the ConocoPhillips refining system with a crude processing capacity of 306,000 BPD, the Wood River facility will revamp its kerosene hydrotreater, reusing existing equipment to develop a low capital cost S Zorb SRT unit.
“We are pleased with the processing flexibility and financial benefits that the S Zorb technology will provide our refinery,” said Herman Seedorf, manager, Wood River Refinery Complex. “We believe the technology offers a low-cost, flexible solution for producing 30 ppm product and represents the most economical pathway for meeting future government mandates for even lower product sulfur levels.”
S Zorb SRT is an advanced process technology that removes sulfur from gasoline streams through the use of a novel, regenerable sorbent. It was developed to help oil companies comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 2 regulations. These regulations lower the sulfur content in gasoline from 300 parts per million (ppm) to 30 ppm in 2006. Eventually, gasoline sulfur levels must not exceed 30 ppm on average. The new S Zorb unit will provide cost-effective compliance by minimizing refinery octane pool losses and hydrogen consumption normally associated with gasoline desulfurization. In addition, it provides flexibility for compliance with potential future gasoline regulations.
ConocoPhillips recently announced that new S Zorb SRT units are planned to be built at the Pasadena Refining System, Inc.’s Pasadena, Texas, USA, refinery, and Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Company’s Yanshan Refinery, Yanshan, Beijing, China. These units would represent the first S Zorb SRT units to be built outside of ConocoPhillips’ own refining system. ConocoPhillips is currently the second largest refiner in the U.S. and the fifth largest refiner worldwide of non-government controlled companies.
Other S Zorb units are located at ConocoPhillips’ U.S. refineries in Borger, Texas, and Ferndale, Wash., and have been successfully operating since 2001 and 2003 respectively. The company has a third S Zorb unit currently under construction at its Lake Charles refinery in Westlake, La., with start-up on schedule for later this year.
ConocoPhillips is an integrated oil company with interests around the world. For more information, go to
www.conocophillips.com.
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