EL7.AI
CommoditiesMedium•22 October 2026•
2 min read

Exxon shuts 50,000-barrel-a-day unit at Joliet refinery

Key Facts

1Exxon shut a 50,000-barrel-per-day catalytic reformer at Joliet on October 20.
2The Joliet refinery's stated crude processing capacity is 275,000 barrels per day.
3U.S. gasoline inventories fell by 2.95 million barrels to 205.3 million barrels.
4Analysts in a Reuters poll expected gasoline inventories to fall by 443,000 barrels.

Exxon Mobil shut a catalytic reformer at its Joliet refinery on October 20, 2026, according to Wood Mackenzie, as cited by Reuters. The idled unit has a capacity of 50,000 barrels per day at a facility Exxon says is equipped to process 275,000 barrels of crude oil per day. A company spokesperson told Reuters: "We are working to address an operational issue." The refinery produces about 11 million gallons of gasoline and diesel daily, according to Exxon's description of the facility's operations. Joliet receives Canadian crude oil by pipeline for processing, according to the company.

The unit outage follows a power failure that shut the refinery in September, according to Reuters. That shutdown lasted two weeks, preceding the current operational issue at the catalytic reformer. Providing details of the September incident, Exxon said the power outage originated on ComEd's primary and secondary lines supplying the Joliet refinery. Across the U.S. refining sector, Energy Information Administration data showed refinery capacity utilization averaged 95% in the third quarter of 2026. The agency described refinery operating levels during the quarter as unusually high for the season.

In the inventory report released on October 21, Energy Information Administration data showed U.S. gasoline inventories fell by 2.95 million barrels over the week, according to Reuters. That brought total inventories to 205.3 million barrels. The draw exceeded analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a decline of 443,000 barrels. In retail prices preceding the unit outage, the average price of on-highway diesel in the Midwest reached $6.352 per gallon on October 19, compared with $6.259 the previous week, according to the Energy Information Administration. The region's average regular gasoline price held at $4.145 per gallon in the latest two weeks available before the outage.

The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to publish its next gasoline and diesel price update on October 27, 2026. The update follows the regional readings preceding the Joliet unit shutdown. The agency typically publishes its weekly inventory report on Wednesdays, according to its official schedule. The usual release time is 10:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Exxon Mobil subsequently plans to announce its financial results for the third quarter of 2026 on October 30, 2026, according to the company's statement to investors.