Delek Refining is in the midst of its 45-day shutdown to make millions of dollars in upgrades and expand the Tyler refinery’s production capacity.

When completed, the plant will go from being a 62,000-a-barrel-a-day refinery of crude oil to 74,000 barrels a day. The crude expansion will be a $67.4 million project, Louis LaBella, vice president and general manager for the Tyler refinery, said in January.

Delek Refining recently provided the Tyler Morning Telegraph with photographs of the work that is being done day and night at the plant, at 425 McMurrey Drive.

The shutdown, called a turnaround, began Jan. 21 and will run through March. LaBella said 1,300 people are working in the facility during the peak time this month, including more than 1,200 contractors from 35 companies.

An investment of $12.7 million will go toward replacing the reactor, which took 80 trucks and a 1,500-ton crane to bring in and four weeks to assemble. Other upgrades include $12.7 million to revamp Cat equipment made in 1979, $4 million to reinforce the infrastructure for cooling; and $14 million to go from two steam turbines to the more efficient electric, he said. Changes also will result in greater production of diesel and gasoline.

Delek buys crude oil directly from producers or from brokers, with the majority coming to them through a pipeline. It boils the crude oil and makes refined products, such as gasoline, aviation and jet fuel and diesel, out of it; and sells products to every service station in a 60-mile radius, he said.

Although the plant will reopen on March 1, it will finish the turnaround work in mid-March, LaBella said previously.

 

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