Tesoro to cut Hawaii fuel output by 26% in January
By Dan Lonkevich
Bloomberg News
Tesoro Corp., which operates the largest of two refineries in Hawaii, said today it cut fuel production this month after record crude-oil costs eroded profit margins.
The company, which owns seven U.S. refineries, said its Hawaii plant in Kapolei will operate as much as 26 percent below capacity.
Output also will be slowed in the current quarter on installation of a new unit called a delayed coker at Tesoro's Golden Eagle refinery in California.
Tesoro's plants will process an estimated 545,000 to 595,000 barrels of crude and other feedstocks a day, on average, during the quarter, according to Tesoro. The bottom of that range is 17 percent below capacity.
The forecast includes a processing estimate of 220,000 to 240,000 barrels a day in California, compared with a capacity of 265,000, Tesoro said.
U.S. crude-oil futures have jumped 83 percent in the past year and touched an all-time high this month at more than $100 a barrel. Prices for gasoline and other refined fuels haven't climbed as quickly, narrowing profit margins for fuel makers.