Of the two Esso refineries in the Benelux, the Antwerp refinery is older than the Rotterdam refinery. It is also the largest with a processing capacity of approximately 13.5 million tonnes per year.

Good to Know

The refinery is located next to the Marshall Dockyard since 1953. It underwent a radical modernization in 1976 with only a few units from the former refinery, such as the catalytic cracking plant, 'surviving' this capital expenditure.

The refinery receives its raw material, petroleum, from Rotterdam through the RAPL (Rotterdam-Antwerp Pipeline). The refinery is a genuine petrochemical company. It is the largest solvent manufacturer in Europe (see Antwerp Performance Intermediates Plant) and supplies numerous raw materials to the chemical sector.

In 2001, the refinery won a special ExxonMobil award, the Regional Directors Award, for reaching four million man-hours without our employees or the contractors having an accident that resulted in a stoppage. Antwerp is the first ExxonMobil refinery to receive this award.

What We Do

Apart from LPG, petrol, naphtha, kerosene, diesel oil, domestic fuel oil, light and heavy gasoil and raw materials for the chemical sector, it also produces solvents and bitumen (asphalt). In 1991, the refinery was expanded with an alkylation plant and a higher olefins plant.

The first major overhaul after the modernization in 1981 was used to considerably increase the energy efficiency of the refinery. Thanks to improved heat integration and other specific projects, such as the recovery of heat from chimney gasses and the construction of a combined heat and power plant in 1993 that generates sufficient power to supply the refinery with all electricity it needs, its relative energy consumption is now among the lowest in the industry.

Fact Sheet