Exxon opens Antwerp plant

has officially opened its latest cogeneration plant at its Antwerp refinery in Belgium.

ExxonMobil claims that in addition to generating 125MW, the new plant (designed to simultaneously produce electricity and useful heat or steam used for industrial processes) will reduce Belgium's carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 200,000 tonnes per year.

‘Energy efficiency is one of the most effective tools available for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,’ said Sherman Glass, president of ExxonMobil Refining & Supply. ‘Since 2004, ExxonMobil has invested in over 1,500MW of cogeneration capacity in five countries.’

‘This new cogeneration plant allows for the efficient generation of electricity to run pumps, compressors and other equipment in our facilities, while at the same time, producing additional steam that is needed in processes that transform crude oil into refined products,’ said Gilbert Asselman, manager of the Antwerp refinery.

Additional facilities under construction in Singapore and China will increase ExxonMobil's cogeneration capacity to more than 5,000MW in the next three years.