The multibillion-dollar expansion project at Motiva Enterprises LLC's Port Arthur, Texas, refinery won't be delayed for long because of Hurricane Ike, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) said Wednesday.

"We had some minor damage to the project," David Sexton, president of Shell Oil Products U.S., said during a conference call with reporters.

Once employees can return for work, the project will move forward, Sexton said.

Motiva is a joint venture between Shell and Saudi Aramco.

When completed the expansion will make the Port Arthur refinery the largest in the U.S., with a capacity of more than 600,000 barrels a day. It is scheduled to be completed in 2010.

The project was mostly financed by Motiva's parent companies and little debt was taken on, so the recent collapse of several large financial institutions won't affect the expansion, Sexton said.

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