Net income of $937 million and EBITDA1 of $1.4 billion, compared to net income of $806 million and EBITDA of $1.2 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022
The Lake Charles Refinery increased its nameplate capacity by 38,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) to 463,000 bpd, bringing the total nameplate capacity of the CITGO refining system to 807,000 bpd
Crude oil processing in the first quarter was 772,000 bpd, with crude capacity utilization of 96%, compared with 797,000 bpd and 104% crude capacity utilization in the fourth quarter of 2022
The Lemont Refinery achieved record crude processing of 187,000 bpd in March, representing nearly 106% utilization of the total nameplate capacity
Continued strong reliability across the CITGO refinery system, measured by only 0.71 days of equivalent downtime days during the first quarter
CITGO Petroleum Corporation reported its 2023 first quarter financial and operational results.
Favorable refining margins and product yields combined with strong asset reliability contributed to first quarter net income of $937 million and EBITDA of $1.4 billion, compared with net income of $806 million and EBITDA of $1.2 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022.
"Outstanding financial and operational performance continued into the first quarter," said CITGO President and CEO Carlos Jordá, "while we successfully completed a large turnaround at our Lake Charles refinery. I particularly congratulate the Lake Charles Refinery team for increasing nameplate capacity with professional ingenuity and minimal capital investment, while we continued emphasizing operational and commercial excellence throughout the Company."
First Quarter Highlights:
Strategic and Operational
Throughput – Total throughput for the first quarter was 814,000 bpd, of which crude runs were 772,000 bpd, with a total crude utilization rate of 96%. This compares to total throughput of 874,000 bpd, of which crude runs were 797,000 bpd with crude utilization rate of 104% in the fourth quarter of 2022. Reliability was also strong, with only 0.71 days of equivalent down time across the CITGO refining system, and several unit processing records at both the Lake Charles and Lemont Refineries. Additionally, the Lake Charles Refinery increased its nameplate crude refining capacity by 38,000 bpd, from 425,000 bpd to 463,000 bpd bringing the total nameplate capacity of the CITGO refining system to 807,000 bpd.
· Operational Excellence – Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) performance continued to be strong, with CITGO's occupational safety index remaining below the reported industry average. Additionally, CITGO was recognized with two safety awards for 2022 safety performance: AFPM awarded the Corpus Christi Refinery with its Safety Achievement Award and Union Pacific recognized the Company's rail transportation safety efforts with its Chemical Transportation Safety Pinnacle Award for the second year in a row.
· Commercial Excellence – Continued diversifying crude trading and product trading counterparties with customers in Canada, Egypt, India, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and Oman. Additionally, the Light Oils Marketing, Lubricants, and Terminals and Pipelines business units also delivered solid results for the first quarter.
Financial
During the first quarter, CITGO invested $127 million in turnaround and catalysts and incurred an additional $53 million of capital expenditures.
According to CITGO Holding debt covenants, the Company will make a $473 million excess cash offer on May 11, 2023 to the CITGO Holding bond holders. The final date for acceptance by the bond holders will be June 9, 2023.
