From Staff Reports
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A RDS.B) and Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco have announced the $7 billion expansion of a refinery in Port Arthur, Tex., which will make it the largest facility in the United States, according to Forbes.com.
The refinery's output will be beefed up from 275,000 barrels of crude per day all the way up to 600,000 barrels. The project is scheduled for completion by 2010. It will cost an estimated $7 billion, which is more than double last year's estimate.
The two oil giants will share the cost as part of their joint venture, Motiva, headquartered in Houston. Motiva operates two other refineries in Louisiana. The company supplies approximately 7,700 Shell-branded retail outlets in the Gulf and East Coast regions.