Chevron Is Scaling Back Refurbishing Plans: The...

Chevron Is Scaling Back Refurbishing Plans: The San Francisco energy company said it will trim back the planned upgrading of its Richmond, Calif., refinery because projected costs are too high. The company will drop plans to build a 45,000-barrel-per-day flexicoker unit, which breaks oil into heavier and lighter products, because a financial analysis showed that costs would be closer to $2 billion than to the $1.3 billion previously estimated, Chevron said. Other upgrading projects will continue, including construction of a cogeneration plant and improving the refinery’s yield of light petroleum products such as gasoline. The plan projects expenditures in the range of $400 million to $500 million.