REFINING CAPACITYmillion b/d Shell share
We have interests in more than 30 refining sites worldwide. Together they have the capacity to process approximately 3.4 million barrels of oil per day into a wide range of products including gasoline, diesel, heating oil, aviation fuel, marine fuel, lubricants, liquefied petroleum gas, sulphur and bitumen. About 40% of our refining capacity is in Europe and Africa, 35% in the Americas and 25% in Asia-Pacific.
We focus on efficiency improvements at our refineries and petrochemicals plants. These improvements have contributed to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving even greater efficiency and operational reliability will help us improve profitability. The average availability of our refineries, a measure of their operational excellence, was 93% in 2012.
A key part of our strategy is to divest non-core assets while selectively investing in high-growth markets, especially in Asia. We have retained the larger and more integrated refineries, and the current portfolio is positioned for optimisation across the entire value chain. Major asset sales have been completed, but we will continue to review the portfolio regularly and improve it further where necessary.
We aim to create a Downstream portfolio that is more focused on larger, integrated refining and petrochemical sites that are better able to respond to tighter fuel specifications and growth opportunities. The Port Arthur refinery in Texas will have a prominent place in that portfolio. It is part of the Motiva Enterprises joint venture (Shell interest 50%) and the largest refinery in the USA. The expansion brings an additional 320 thousand b/d of capacity online in the US Gulf Coast region (increasing the refinery’s total capacity to 620 thousand b/d) and will be capable of handling most grades of crude oil. New technology will also lower most types of emissions from the refinery on a per-barrel basis.