The visbreaker converts 25-40% of the heavy bottoms from crude oil distillation into lighter and more valuable products (gas, naphtha and diesel). This is carried out through thermal cracking where heavy oil molecules are exposed to such high temperatures (460ºC) in the visbreaker furnace that they crack into smaller and lighter molecules. The converted product is separated through distillation and further processing in desulfurization plants before they can be sold or processed further. The plant provides an important adjustment by bringing the refinery's product yield more in line with market demand. The bulk of the heavy fuel oil production is exported to power plants and as bunker fuel for ships.

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