Lyondell-Citgo refinery production at 85 percent

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.21.03, 8:45 AM ET

HOUSTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Lyondell Chemical Co. (nyse: LYO - news - people) said production at its joint-venture refinery in Houston is at 85 percent of its capacity of 270,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Production at Lyondell-Citgo Refining LP is running between 220,000 and 230,000 bpd, the Houston-based company said in astatement Monday.

In late December, the refinery shut a crude unit accounting for half of oil processing capacity because it was unable to obtain the sour Venezuelan crude that unit is configured to handle. A general strike in Venezuela has slashed oil output from that country. Prior to the strike, Lyondell-Citgo received about 230,000 bpd of oil from Venezuela.

The company said it has restarted the crude unit. It also said availability of spot and Venezuelan contract crude has improved the refinery's ability to operate.

Lyondell-Citgo is a joint venture between Lyondell and Citgo Petroleum Co., which is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state oil company of Venezuela.