{"id":"refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide","canonicalSlug":"refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide","url":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide","language":"en","title":"Refinery capacity: calendar day, stream day and actual throughput","summary":"An engineering guide to refinery capacity, dated project milestones and transparent calculations, with lessons from Ballymore, Kaminho and P1000.","body":["Two refineries advertised at the same barrels-per-day rate may be reporting different quantities. EIA defines calendar-day capacity as processing capability under usual conditions, including operational constraints and downtime. Stream-day capacity assumes optimal operation without downtime. Neither is a measured production series.","A credible comparison therefore needs the facility type, process, input or output basis, unit, capacity definition and reference date. Crude distillation, a gas-processing plant, a mineral refinery and an oil terminal are different facilities even if their names contain “refinery”."],"keyPoints":[],"sections":[{"heading":"Read the reference date before comparing plants","paragraphs":["EIA’s 2026 Refinery Capacity Report was released on 26 June 2026 but describes capacity as of 1 January 2026. A subsequent closure or ownership change requires its own evidence. Operating, idle and operable capacity must remain separate; the report also covers some non-refinery process operators.","Wellficent’s refinery edition 2026-10-31-r5 combines EIA records with mapped records of varying evidence quality. An OpenStreetMap tag is not an operator certification. Unverified capacity tags cannot support a worldwide ranking or a global census of operating crude refineries."]},{"heading":"A reproducible calculation, with assumptions visible","paragraphs":["Assume a fictional unit has stream-day capacity of 100,000 barrels and operates at that full rate for an assumed fraction f of a 365-day year. Annual input = 100,000 × 365 × f. At 80%, 90% and 100%, the results are 29.2, 32.85 and 36.5 million barrels respectively.","The chart shows this arithmetic only. These are not measurements from a real refinery, a forecast or EIA utilisation rates. The assumed fraction combines downtime and reduced operation into a simplified scenario; feedstock and product constraints would require a fuller model. Applying another downtime allowance to calendar-day capacity can count an allowance twice."]},{"heading":"Process capacity is not additive","paragraphs":["A hypothetical 100,000-barrel crude distillation unit plus a 30,000-barrel catalytic-cracking unit does not equal 130,000 barrels of crude intake. Downstream units process fractions from earlier units; their charge and product capacities have different scopes. Product yields, energy use and hydrogen requirements need a process balance, not addition of equipment ratings."]},{"heading":"The same discipline applies to wells and project news","paragraphs":["Ballymore’s April 2025 announcement reports 75,000 barrels of oil per day and gas capacity separately. Kaminho’s May 2024 decision gives a 2028 start-up target, rather than current output. P1000’s first ore on 31 January 2025 establishes a commissioning milestone, not sustained concentrate quality. The related reports preserve those distinctions.","Well Atlas records are also source-scoped entries, not automatically distinct physical wells. A field production total cannot be allocated to a particular well without evidence. A nearby refinery or a shared company name does not prove a supply-chain connection."]},{"heading":"Limits and evidence needed next","paragraphs":["This guide explains definitions and arithmetic; it does not independently certify plant operation or estimate missing capacity. A decision-grade comparison needs the latest dated operator or regulator documents, compatible measurement periods and explicit uncertainty. Keep source rights and attribution when reusing records. The illustration is AI-generated and conceptual, not a photographed refinery or a process design."]}],"text":"Refinery capacity: calendar day, stream day and actual throughput\n\nAn engineering guide to refinery capacity, dated project milestones and transparent calculations, with lessons from Ballymore, Kaminho and P1000.\n\nTwo refineries advertised at the same barrels-per-day rate may be reporting different quantities. EIA defines calendar-day capacity as processing capability under usual conditions, including operational constraints and downtime. Stream-day capacity assumes optimal operation without downtime. Neither is a measured production series.\n\nA credible comparison therefore needs the facility type, process, input or output basis, unit, capacity definition and reference date. Crude distillation, a gas-processing plant, a mineral refinery and an oil terminal are different facilities even if their names contain “refinery”.\n\nRead the reference date before comparing plants\n\nEIA’s 2026 Refinery Capacity Report was released on 26 June 2026 but describes capacity as of 1 January 2026. A subsequent closure or ownership change requires its own evidence. Operating, idle and operable capacity must remain separate; the report also covers some non-refinery process operators.\n\nWellficent’s refinery edition 2026-10-31-r5 combines EIA records with mapped records of varying evidence quality. An OpenStreetMap tag is not an operator certification. Unverified capacity tags cannot support a worldwide ranking or a global census of operating crude refineries.\n\nA reproducible calculation, with assumptions visible\n\nAssume a fictional unit has stream-day capacity of 100,000 barrels and operates at that full rate for an assumed fraction f of a 365-day year. Annual input = 100,000 × 365 × f. At 80%, 90% and 100%, the results are 29.2, 32.85 and 36.5 million barrels respectively.\n\nThe chart shows this arithmetic only. These are not measurements from a real refinery, a forecast or EIA utilisation rates. The assumed fraction combines downtime and reduced operation into a simplified scenario; feedstock and product constraints would require a fuller model. Applying another downtime allowance to calendar-day capacity can count an allowance twice.\n\nProcess capacity is not additive\n\nA hypothetical 100,000-barrel crude distillation unit plus a 30,000-barrel catalytic-cracking unit does not equal 130,000 barrels of crude intake. Downstream units process fractions from earlier units; their charge and product capacities have different scopes. Product yields, energy use and hydrogen requirements need a process balance, not addition of equipment ratings.\n\nThe same discipline applies to wells and project news\n\nBallymore’s April 2025 announcement reports 75,000 barrels of oil per day and gas capacity separately. Kaminho’s May 2024 decision gives a 2028 start-up target, rather than current output. P1000’s first ore on 31 January 2025 establishes a commissioning milestone, not sustained concentrate quality. The related reports preserve those distinctions.\n\nWell Atlas records are also source-scoped entries, not automatically distinct physical wells. A field production total cannot be allocated to a particular well without evidence. A nearby refinery or a shared company name does not prove a supply-chain connection.\n\nLimits and evidence needed next\n\nThis guide explains definitions and arithmetic; it does not independently certify plant operation or estimate missing capacity. A decision-grade comparison needs the latest dated operator or regulator documents, compatible measurement periods and explicit uncertainty. Keep source rights and attribution when reusing records. The illustration is AI-generated and conceptual, not a photographed refinery or a process design.\n\nTechnical and economic analysis\n\nAnalysis as of: 2026-11-05\n\nEvidence cutoff: 2026-11-05\n\nOutlook horizon: Definitions and illustrative annual arithmetic\n\nIllustrative sensitivity\n\nIllustrative annual feed at assumed operating fractions\n\nFictional 100,000 b/sd unit; annual input = 100,000 × 365 × assumed fraction. Not an EIA utilisation calculation, plant observation or forecast.\n\nThese calculations illustrate stated assumptions; they are not observations or a calibrated forecast.\n\n80% assumed operating fraction: 29.2 million barrels of feed\n\n90% assumed operating fraction: 32.85 million barrels of feed\n\n100% assumed operating fraction: 36.5 million barrels of feed","category":"energy","region":"world","topics":["oil","gas","mining"],"eventDate":"2026-11-05","eventDateBasis":"analysis-as-of-date","publishedAt":"2026-11-05T21:08:29Z","modifiedAt":"2026-11-05T21:08:29Z","publicationBasis":"first-publication","preparedAt":"2026-11-05T21:05:22Z","sourcePublishedAt":null,"translatedAt":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.eia.gov/tools/glossary/index.php?id=B","name":"U.S. EIA — capacity definitions","licence":"U.S. government public domain","checkedAt":"2026-11-05","licenseUrl":"https://www.eia.gov/about/copyrights_reuse.php","attribution":"U.S. Energy Information Administration"},{"url":"https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/refinerycapacity/index.php","name":"U.S. EIA — Refinery Capacity Report 2026","checkedAt":"2026-11-05","publishedAt":"2026-06-26"},{"url":"https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/refining-crude-oil.php","name":"U.S. EIA — refining crude oil","checkedAt":"2026-11-05"},{"url":"https://wellficent.com/api/v1/refineries","name":"Wellficent — refinery edition and source metadata","checkedAt":"2026-11-05"},{"url":"https://totalenergies.com/newsroom/united-states-first-oil-ballymore-offshore-field/?lang=eng","name":"TotalEnergies — Ballymore first production","checkedAt":"2026-11-05","publishedAt":"2025-04-21"},{"url":"https://totalenergies.com/newsroom/angola-totalenergies-launches-kaminho-deepwater-project/?lang=eng","name":"TotalEnergies — Kaminho investment decision","checkedAt":"2026-11-05","publishedAt":"2024-05-21"},{"url":"https://www.pls.com/news/p1000-achieves-first-ore","name":"PLS — P1000 achieves first ore","checkedAt":"2026-11-05","publishedAt":"2025-01-31"}],"translations":{"en":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide","tr":"https://wellficent.com/tr/news/refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide","ar":"https://wellficent.com/ar/news/refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide","fr":"https://wellficent.com/fr/news/refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide","es":"https://wellficent.com/es/news/refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide","ru":"https://wellficent.com/ru/news/refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide","pt":"https://wellficent.com/pt/news/refinery-capacity-calendar-stream-day-engineering-guide"},"corrections":[],"locations":[],"type":"analysis","analysis":{"asOf":"2026-11-05","kind":"technical-economic","chart":{"kind":"illustrative","note":{"ar":"وحدة خيالية بطاقة 100,000 برميل لكل يوم تشغيل؛ المدخل السنوي = 100,000 × 365 × النسبة المفترضة. ليست حساب استخدام EIA أو قياس مصنع أو توقعاً.","en":"Fictional 100,000 b/sd unit; annual input = 100,000 × 365 × assumed fraction. Not an EIA utilisation calculation, plant observation or forecast.","es":"Unidad ficticia de 100.000 b/d de operación; entrada anual = 100.000 × 365 × fracción supuesta. No es utilización EIA, observación ni pronóstico.","fr":"Unité fictive de 100 000 b/j de marche; entrée annuelle = 100 000 × 365 × fraction supposée. Ni taux EIA, ni observation, ni prévision.","pt":"Unidade fictícia de 100.000 b/d de operação; entrada anual = 100.000 × 365 × fração suposta. Não é utilização EIA, observação ou previsão.","ru":"Вымышленная установка 100 000 баррелей за сутки работы; годовой вход = 100 000 × 365 × доля. Не расчёт использования EIA, наблюдение или прогноз.","tr":"Hayali 100.000 b/sd ünite; yıllık giriş = 100.000 × 365 × varsayılan oran. EIA kullanım oranı hesabı, tesis gözlemi veya öngörü değildir."},"rows":[{"label":{"ar":"نسبة تشغيل مفترضة 80%","en":"80% assumed operating fraction","es":"Fracción supuesta del 80%","fr":"Fraction supposée de 80%","pt":"Fração suposta de 80%","ru":"Условная доля работы 80%","tr":"Varsayılan %80 çalışma"},"value":29.2},{"label":{"ar":"نسبة تشغيل مفترضة 90%","en":"90% assumed operating fraction","es":"Fracción supuesta del 90%","fr":"Fraction supposée de 90%","pt":"Fração suposta de 90%","ru":"Условная доля работы 90%","tr":"Varsayılan %90 çalışma"},"value":32.85},{"label":{"ar":"نسبة تشغيل مفترضة 100%","en":"100% assumed operating fraction","es":"Fracción supuesta del 100%","fr":"Fraction supposée de 100%","pt":"Fração suposta de 100%","ru":"Условная доля работы 100%","tr":"Varsayılan %100 çalışma"},"value":36.5}],"unit":"million barrels of feed","title":{"ar":"تغذية سنوية توضيحية حسب نسب تشغيل مفترضة","en":"Illustrative annual feed at assumed operating fractions","es":"Alimentación anual ilustrativa por fracción de operación","fr":"Charge annuelle illustrative selon la fraction de marche","pt":"Alimentação anual ilustrativa por fração de operação","ru":"Условная годовая загрузка при заданной доле работы","tr":"Varsayılan çalışma oranlarına göre örnek yıllık besleme"},"unitLabel":{"ar":"مليون برميل تغذية","en":"million barrels of feed","es":"millones de barriles de alimentación","fr":"millions de barils de charge","pt":"milhões de barris de alimentação","ru":"млн баррелей сырья","tr":"milyon varil besleme"}},"horizon":"Definitions and illustrative annual arithmetic","horizonLabel":{"ar":"تعريفات وحساب سنوي توضيحي","en":"Definitions and illustrative annual arithmetic","es":"Definiciones y cálculo anual ilustrativo","fr":"Définitions et calcul annuel illustratif","pt":"Definições e cálculo anual ilustrativo","ru":"Определения и иллюстративный годовой расчёт","tr":"Tanımlar ve örnek yıllık hesap"},"evidenceCutoff":"2026-11-05"},"classification":{"version":"1","dataKinds":["resource-register","project-update"],"geographies":[{"role":"economic-scope","countryCode":"US","subdivisionCode":null},{"role":"economic-scope","countryCode":"AO","subdivisionCode":null},{"role":"economic-scope","countryCode":"AU","subdivisionCode":null}],"evidenceBasis":["reported-observation","plan"],"measurementPeriod":null},"relatedArticles":[{"canonicalSlug":"chevron-ballymore-deepwater-gulf-of-mexico-oil-production-nov2026","url":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/chevron-ballymore-deepwater-gulf-of-mexico-oil-production-nov2026","title":"Ballymore first production: the April 2025 milestone and Blind Faith tieback","language":"en"},{"canonicalSlug":"sonangol-totalenergies-cameia-golfinho-kwanza-basin-fid-nov2026","url":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/sonangol-totalenergies-cameia-golfinho-kwanza-basin-fid-nov2026","title":"Kaminho: the 2024 investment decision, 2028 target and gas-reinjection design","language":"en"},{"canonicalSlug":"pilbara-minerals-pilgangoora-p1000-expansion-commissioning-nov2026","url":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/pilbara-minerals-pilgangoora-p1000-expansion-commissioning-nov2026","title":"P1000 at Pilgangoora: first ore was achieved on 31 January 2025","language":"en"}],"image":{"url":"https://wellficent.com/media/f6cea0859e591285b745513cdd250874ab3935ac3d910fec77f569536a6f7891.webp","width":1672,"height":941,"alt":"Conceptual crude refinery illustration with distillation columns, pipe racks and storage tanks; no actual site or capacity is depicted.","credit":"Wellficent / OpenAI — AI-generated conceptual illustration; not a photograph, actual facility representation or engineering evidence.","licenseUrl":"https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use/"}}