Chevron to boost gas output at refinery

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Chevron Corp. said Monday it would add a major gasoline production unit to its oil refining facility in Pascagoula, Miss.

The company's Chevron U.S.A. unit said the new Continuous Catalyst Regeneration (CCR) unit will replace two 30-year-old units, and should enhance the facility's gasoline output by about 600,000 gallons per day.

The facility's general manager, Roland Kell, said in a statement that the project would add about 700 new construction jobs.

Chevron said it has received the necessary environmental permits. Construction of the CCR unit is scheduled to begin in early 2008 and be completed by mid-2010 at the cost of $500 million, the company said.

Pascagoula is Chevron's largest wholly owned U.S. refinery. It produces a number of transportation fuels, including gasoline.

The new construction project was prompted by customer demand for "clean-burning transportation fuels," Chevron Global Refining president Jeet Bindra said in a statement.

Chevron said its other construction projects throughout the United States have increased gasoline manufacturing output by about 1 million gallons per day since 2005. Last year, the Pascagoula facility received upgrades to its Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit, boosting output by 10 percent.

The company said it is evaluating other potential enhancements to the Pascagoula Refinery and its global refining network.

No new refinery has been built in the United States for more than two decades.