Raven Petroleum, L.L.C.
The Woodlands, TX.
South Texas Energy Complex
A CLEAN APPROACH TO REFINING
Raven Petroleum is proposing to build an environmentally safe refinery by utilizing state-of-the-art technologies combining cogeneration, natural gas and base-load renewable power to process Texas crude benefiting the Texas economy.
The Raven Story
The timing, technology and vision are right for Raven Petroleum to develop the first U.S.-based refinery in over 40 years. Raven Petroleum is choosing to build in Texas, to refine light, sweet Texas crude. The newly deregulated Mexican energy market and the surplus of Texas crude oil unlocked by the shale revolution are what make this the perfect opportunity. There’s a reason no new refineries have been built in the US in four decades: cost.
Raven Petroleum is able to overcome the high cost and barriers to entry by avoiding direct competition with domestic major oil companies and by focusing on the niche market of exporting refined product into the newly opened energy market in Mexico.
Raven could more easily build the refinery in Mexico, and for less money, but they are determined to see Texas benefit from the immediate and long-term jobs the refinery will bring to South Texas. Early projections are that the project will create 1,000 to 1,500 jobs during the construction phase, bringing much-needed financial growth to the area, and provide hundreds of permanent jobs. And he’s determined to prove he can do it with the safest and most environmentally friendly facility in existence today.
South Texas Energy Complex Map (Duval County, TX)
LOCATION
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Duval County, just outside of Laredo, Texas
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Direct rail access to Mexico via Kansas City Southern Railroad.
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Two pipelines bisect the property.
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Adjacent highway transportation access.
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Access to ample feedstock from multiple Eagle Ford suppliers.
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Ideal position for distribution to newly opened Mexican markets.
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No other refineries located in the Laredo area
SIZE / CAPACITY
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30,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) crude fractionation unit
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Storage tank capacity of up to 1,000,000 barrels.
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Capacity of 1 inbound and 1 outbound Unit trains per day.
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Rail terminal infrastructure with approx 7 miles of internal track.
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5,000+ ft direct rail frontage on the KCSR mainline.
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Additional acres for co-development
CLEAN POWER AND REFINING PROCESSES
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Use of steam methane reforming (SMR) and carbon capture to produce "blue hydrogen"
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Use of renewable energy and electrolysis to produce "green hydrogen"
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Use of co-located geothermal power for onsite consumption
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Use of "EV" Electric Vehicles to support the facility and staff
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Use of sustainable water solutions within the refining process
PLANNED PRODUCT SLATE
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Diesel fuel
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Stabilized Naphtha
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LPG gas products
The Environment
Raven understands that when the public hears the word “refinery,” many see a dirty picture. The Raven Petroleum facility will combine renewable power and technology that reduces carbon waste to create an environmentally safe site. This state-of-the-art facility will use geothermal and carbon capture technology to keep the air clean and capture NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and CO2 (carbon dioxide).
Water Quality & Quantity
The Raven facility will deal with the brackish water, and a water processing unit with proprietary technology to repurpose its used refining water back into the system. But don’t refineries require a lot of water? And doesn’t South Texas, like much of the state, have water concerns? Yes, however Raven's water supply will not interfere with shallow livestock or municipal wells. In addition, Raven will recover, recycle and repurpose a large amount of the water used at the facility.
Health & Safety
Even with the carbon capture and reduced emissions that come from efficiently refining a much lighter crude, Raven is sensitive to public perceptions and concerns about health – particularly when it comes to area schools. That is one of the reasons why Raven purchased over 800 acres for a facility that requires less than half of the acreage. Raven has carefully calculated both the distance of the facility site, and the placement of the refinery within that 832 acres, to ensure no potentially harmful impact nearby schools and residents. Raven has also addressed concerns that any incident at the plant would tax the region’s protection and medical resources, such as first responders and emergency care, with plans to build an on-site triage center, complete with an AIRVAC to airlift its personnel in a worst-case scenario.
But in that health and safety planning process, Raven discovered that the community was woefully underserved when it came to its own medical facility. The company is helping to expand the local clinic to support employees, families and residents in the community.
In the case of an industrial accident, Raven has fire suppression systems with redundant backups - all of which would have to fail before there was a need to call upon local resources. There again, in planning for all contingencies, Raven discovered a need the community had that far exceeded the needs of the facility. Raven has plans to help rebuild the fire station and send its personnel to College Station for firefighter training school.
Wildlife
Raven understands that wildlife concerns in South Texas take on a different urgency than in some other parts of the state; as a popular hunting area, healthy and plentiful wildlife brings much-needed income to counties where the unemployment rate frequently hovers above 10 percent. Raven purchased over 800-acres to provide an expansive buffer zone to minimize impact on the wildlife, the environment, and surrounding landowners.