[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 24, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12653]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 24, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket 20-94]

 

Proposed Foreign-Trade Subzone; Chevron U.S.A. Products Company 
(Oil Refinery); Philadelphia, PA

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, grantee of FTZ 
35, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the oil refinery 
complex of Chevron U.S.A. Products Company (Chevron), a wholly owned 
subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, located in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania. The application was submitted pursuant to the provisions 
of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a-81u), and the 
regulations of the Board (15 CFR part 400). It was formally filed on 
May 11, 1993.
    The refinery complex (707 acres, 1,195 employees) consists of four 
sites and connecting pipelines, located near the junction of the 
Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers in southwestern Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania: Site 1 (372 acres)--175,000 BPD refinery, Lanier Avenue, 
east side of the Schuylkill River; Site 2 (203 acres)--Schuylkill River 
Tank Farm, west side of the Schuylkill River across from the refinery; 
Site 3 (116 acres)--Darby Creek Tank Farm, Falcon Hook Rd., 3 miles 
northwest of the refinery; and Site 4 (16 acres)--Hog Island Wharf, 3 
miles southwest of the refinery, on the Delaware River, adjacent to the 
Philadelphia International Airport. The wharf, storage facilities and 
pipelines operate as an integral part of the refinery. The refinery is 
used to produce fuel and chemical products. Fuels produced include 
gasoline, jet fuel, heavy fuel oil, diesel fuel, and light naphtha. 
Chemical products produced include liquified petroleum gas and butane; 
petrochemical feedstocks, such as cumene; and refinery byproducts, such 
as sulfur. All of the crude oil (95 percent of inputs) and certain 
blendstocks are sourced from abroad.
    The application requests authority to use zone procedures primarily 
for export activity at this time and indicates that Chevron will accept 
approval subject to the standard oil refinery restrictions (privileged 
foreign status on incoming foreign merchandise and full duties on fuel 
consumed). At the outset, one of the main uses of zone procedures would 
involve the refining of foreign crude oil for jet fuel that is sold for 
international flights, displacing foreign-sourced jet fuel that is 
imported duty- and tax-free under Customs' bonded fuel program.
    Zone procedures would exempt Chevron from Customs duty payments on 
the foreign products used in its exports, including jet fuel sold for 
international flights. The company would be able to defer Customs 
duties on finished products shipped to U.S. markets. (The duty on crude 
oil ranges from 5.25 to 10.5 cents/barrel.) Jet fuel sold for 
international flights also would be exempt from state sales and excise 
taxes.
    MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) is one of the blendstocks 
sourced from abroad. The company would be able to defer Customs duties 
on MTBE blended into motor gasoline and shipped to U.S. markets. (The 
duty on MTBE is 5.6% ad valorem). The application indicates that the 
savings from zone procedures would help improve the refinery's 
international competitiveness.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, a member of the FTZ 
Staff has been designated examiner to investigate the application and 
report to the Board.
    Public comment is invited from interested parties. Submissions 
(original and 3 copies) shall be addressed to the Board's Executive 
Secretary at the address below. The closing period for their receipt is 
July 25, 1994. Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted 
during the foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-
day period August 8, 1994.
    A copy of the application and accompanying exhibits will be 
available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

U.S. Department of Commerce District Office, suite 201, 660 American 
Avenue, King of Prussia, PA 19406.
Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, room 
3716, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230.

    Dated: May 13, 1994.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-12653 Filed 5-23-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P