Exxon 2014 Annual Report Download - page 24

ExxonMobil’s Downstream investments continue to strengthen our advantaged assets by increasing high-value
product yields, improving feedstock flexibility, expanding logistics capability, and increasing operating efficiency.
We carefully evaluate investment opportunities across a wide range of market conditions and only advance projects
generating long-term shareholder value. The success of our disciplined investment approach and the strength of
our integrated model underpin our ability to outperform competition across the cycle.
Increasing Higher-Value Product Yields
A key focus area for our Downstream business is increasing
the production of higher-value products at our advantaged
sites. While the demand for petroleum products like
gasoline and fuel oil is expected to decline, demand for
higher-value products, such as ultra-low sulfur diesel, jet
fuel, chemical feedstocks, and lubricants, is expected to
continue to grow. Our investments will use advantaged
technology to increase production of these products to
meet future demand and improve profitability. Our fully
integrated marketing and sales teams identify consumer
demand trends and help us maximize the commercial value
of every molecule we produce.
In 2014, we commissioned the Clean Fuels Project at
the Saudi Aramco Mobil Company Limited Refinery in
Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. The site can now reduce sulfur levels
in gasoline and diesel by more than 98 percent to meet
more stringent fuel standards in the Kingdom.
Despite challenging market conditions, we have some of
the largest, lowest-cost refineries in Western Europe which benefit from fuels, lubes, and chemical integration. Building
on our competitive cost position at our Antwerp Refinery, construction of a 50-thousand-barrel-per-day delayed coker
began in 2014. Scheduled to start up in 2017, the new facility will help meet growing demand for cleaner transportation
fuel by converting lower-value fuel oil into higher-value
ultra-low sulfur diesel. At the Slagen Refinery in Norway,
we will install a new processing unit to replace production
of heavy fuel oil with lighter, higher-value gas oil. This
feedstock is used to produce finished products such as
lower-sulfur diesel.
We also continue to expand our high-value lubricants
business. Sales of our industry-leading products, Mobil 1,
Mobil SHC, and Mobil Delvac 1, have grown by nearly
90 percent over the past 10 years. To further capture
profitable growth, we are applying proprietary catalyst
and processing technology to increase high-performance
lube basestock capacity at our facilities in Texas, Louisiana,
and Singapore. Additional lubricant plant expansions
in China, Finland, Singapore, and the United States are
also under way to support demand growth for finished
lubricants and greases in key markets.
Lube basestock expansions in Singapore (shown left) and
Baytown will further extend our industry-leading basestock
capacity by over 10 percent.
CREATING VALUE THROUGH THE CYCLE
Downstream: Strengthening the Portfolio
Investments over the past five years, including those at our joint
venture refinery in Saudi Arabia, have expanded our ultra-low
sulfur diesel capacity by more than 25 percent globally.
EXXONMOBIL 2014 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT
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