Motiva Enterprises
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Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Petroleum |
Predecessor | Star Enterprises (1988–97) |
Founded | 1997 |
Fate | Partnership ended in 2017, Shell sold its part to Saudi Aramco which became the whole owner[1][2] |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | U.S. |
Brands | Shell 76[3] |
Services | Oil refining, gas stations |
Number of employees | 2,500[4] |
Parent |
|
Website | motiva.com |
Motiva Enterprises, LLC is an American company that operates as a wholly owned US subsidiary of Saudi Aramco. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Motiva operates as a distributor of Shell and 76 branded gasolines within its operating territory.[3]
The company began as a 50–50 joint venture between Shell Oil Company (the wholly owned US subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell) and Saudi Aramco (which had previously partnered with Texaco) in 1997.[1]
History
[edit]In 1988, Texaco and Saudi Refining agreed to form a joint venture known as "Star Enterprises" in which Saudi Refining would own a 50 percent share of Texaco's refining and marketing operations in the eastern United States and Gulf Coast.[5][6]
In 1997, Shell embarked on two joint ventures with Texaco in which the companies merged their marketing and refining operations.[6] The operations in the western and midwestern United States were merged into a company called "Equilon". The Star Enterprises operation and Shell's eastern and southeastern operations were merged into a company called "Motiva".[7] After Texaco merged with Chevron in 2001, Shell and Saudi Refining purchased Texaco's interests in the joint ventures. Equilon became a fully owned subsidiary of Shell, while Saudi Aramco and Shell each became equal owners of Motiva.[8]
In 2016, Motiva obtained an exclusive license for the 76 gasoline brand on the east coast, previously a West Coast-only brand.[9] In March 2017, Royal Dutch Shell plc signed definitive agreements with Saudi Refining Inc. that gave full ownership of refining and marketing joint venture Motiva Enterprises, LLC to Saudi Refining.[1][2]
Operations
[edit]Motiva Enterprises owns and operates the Port Arthur Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.[10] On 25 May 2012, Motiva officially completed its expansion of the refinery to a capacity of 600,000 bbl/d (95,000 m3/d) making it the largest refinery in North America. By 2018, it is ranked as the sixth-largest refinery in the world.[11]
Motiva's products include diesel, gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), aviation fuel, and lubricants which it supplies to American states in the South, Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast.[12] Marketing outlets include 5200 Shell and 76-branded service stations. Motiva fully divested all 25 finished products terminals in 2023. [13]
Delaware City Refinery Incident
[edit]On July 17, 2001, a storage tank at Motiva's Delaware City, Delaware refinery containing spent sulfuric acid exploded, injuring 8 contract workers and killing one. The ruptured tank proceeded to spill approximately 99,000 gallons of sulfuric acid into the Delaware River[14]. U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) lead investigator David Heller concluded, "Motiva did not act to prevent hot work - high-temperature cutting that could generate molten metal and sparks - from being performed directly above a corroded hazardous storage tank that had holes in its roof and shell and was known to contain flammable vapors."[15]
In 2003, Motiva agreed to pay $36.4 million to settle a suit with the family of Jeffrey Davis, the contractor killed in the incident.[16] In 2005, Motiva Enterprises agreed to settle a joint federal-state civil lawsuit for $23.7 million in civil penalties, environmental Projects, injunctive relief and response costs,[17] at the time the largest civil penalty collected in Delaware for environmental violations.[18]
On July 8, 2002, the Delaware State Assembly passed the Jeffrey Davis Aboveground Storage Tank Act, providing additional legal regulations for the containment and maintenance of hazardous chemicals in tanks similar to the one that failed at the Motiva Delaware City Refinery.[19]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Motiva Enterprises' co-owners to split U.S. refineries on May 1: sources on Reuters, 6 March 2017
- ^ a b Shell completes sale of Motiva assets to Saudi Aramco on Hydrocarbon Processing, 5 January 2017
- ^ a b "Our Brands". Motiva.
- ^ Get to know us on Motiva website (16 June 2021)
- ^ "Saudi-Texaco Joint Venture". The New York Times. 3 January 1989. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ a b How Saudi Arabia successfully defended its U.S. oil market share by John Kemp on Reuters, 29 January 2016
- ^ "Aspects of the Refining/Marketing Joint Ventures of Shell Oil, Star Enterprises, and Texaco". Eia.doe.gov. Archived from the original on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Shell to brand new U.S. gas stations". Houston Business Journal. 8 February 2002. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Motiva, Phillips 66 Sign 76 Brand Deal". CSP Daily News. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ Hsu, Chang Samuel; Robinson, Paul R. (2024). Petroleum Science and Technology: Downstream. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. p. 12. ISBN 978-3-031-46644-1.
- ^ Kaiser, Mark J.; Klerk, Arno de; Gary, James H.; Handwerk, Glenn E. Petroleum Refining: Technology, Economics, and Markets, Sixth Edition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4665-6302-5.
- ^ Lewis, Ted G. (2023). Critical Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Reader. John Wiley & Sons. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-394-17954-1.
- ^ Reeves, William D. (2003). Historic Louisiana: An Illustrated History. HPN Books. ISBN 9781893619326.
- ^ https://www.csb.gov/motiva-enterprises-sulfuric-acid-tank-explosion/
- ^ https://www.csb.gov/news-release-august-28-2002-u-s-chemical-safety-board-approves-findings-and-recommendations-in-aftermath-of-motiva-refinery-sulfuric-acid-tank-farm-disaster/
- ^ https://www.klinespecter.com/sites/www.klinespecter.com/files/Davis-Motiva-3.pdf
- ^ https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2005/September/05_enrd_488.htm
- ^ https://www.ehstoday.com/archive/article/21908105/237-million-motiva-settlement-brings-tragic-chapter-to-close
- ^ https://legis.delaware.gov/SessionLaws/Chapter?id=19327
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Motiva Announces Progress on Refinery Expansion Project on Shell US (archived, 25 Jun 2006)