Motiva FCC at Texas refinery shut for two weeks, sources say

March 31 (Reuters) - A fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC) at Motiva Enterprises' refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, is expected to remain shut for two weeks after a second unsuccessful restart attempt over the weekend, sources familiar with plant operations said on Monday.

The unit, called FCC3, and an alkylation unit were shut down on January 21 for a planned overhaul that was expected to take two months.

FCCs convert gas oil into unfinished gasoline, while alkylation units convert refining byproducts into octane-boosting components typically added to gasoline.

Motiva did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

The second attempt at restarting FCC3, which can around 81,000 barrels per day, crashed a compressor on the unit, leading to the two-week delay, the sources said.

The refinery, which has the capacity to convert 626,000 bpd of crude oil into motor fuels and petrochemicals, had earlier attempted to restart the sole cracker unit on March 22.

The 18,000-bpd alkylation unit has been partially restarted but will not return to full production until FCC3 is back in operation, the sources added.