Question-and-Answer Session
Thank you gentlemen. [Operator Instruction]. First we start with Jeff Dietert with Simmons.
Jeff Dietert - Simmons
Good morning. Jeff Dietert with Simmons. Can you hear me okay?
James R. Gibbs - President & Chief Executive Officer
Yes.
Jeff Dietert - Simmons
I think you answered my first broad question on capital projects that you don't plan to slow any or delay any of your projects. But I was wondering if you could talk specifically about the SEC expansion and how that project's economics are holding up, realizing you do get some throughput benefits some Canadian heavy benefit, but it doesn't look like there is a lot more gasoline needed at least in the current environment. Could you talk about that project specifically?
James R. Gibbs - President & Chief Executive Officer
Yeah, we need the capacity on the cap. Because we are getting right over the entire plant whenever we get this big pick up and the coker and vacuum complex and the crude unit complex. So we need it there process gasoline, we also send [inaudible]. And that's about 4,000 barrels a day, 4,000 or 5,000. When we get the effective capacity increased in the plant there in El Dorado that is [inaudible] we are going to restrict that. So we need... actually need that the Cat expansion to take more diesel, more probably more gas oil out of the crude and vacuum, more gas oil out of Shian [ph] also we are doing incredible yield improvement on that particular unit [inaudible]. So that's going to be a big expansion, that's going to be a big yield improver. So I think that that still has very simple rates return.
Jeff Dietert - Simmons
And secondly if I could, the FIFO impact has gotten exceptionally large this quarter relative to others with the higher prices. Could you talk a little bit about that FIFO impact, what's moving around, how much of that is product versus crude?
James R. Gibbs - President & Chief Executive Officer
Yeah, Jeff, the FIFO impact this quarter, crude prices rose only about 6,7 bucks through the course of the quarter from that being from December to March, which is a little bit surprising because I think we all have our radar screen its going up a $1 a day. But what really happened through the course of the quarter was what generated the FIFO result, crude traded down from about $97, $98 at the end of December down into the high 80's in January and February at which time we were adding barrels to our total system in anticipation of the El Dorado turn around. Those barrels have since liquidated and we ran... we saw crude and products prices depreciate $15 or so on a very large inventory build, which has since turned. So that there are moving parts in there that are related to the El Dorado turnaround that are may be not transparent. But other wise, the FIFO answer is pretty static in terms of our inventory levels stay at about six million barrels quarter-to-quarter excepting turnaround quarters and we will see the FIFO effect on that amount of inventory through time there is a lag of about between 20 and 30 days between purchase and sale as the inventory makes its way through our system.
- To read the full transcript on Seeking Alpha, click here »
