BP finishes crude unit upgrade at Whiting refinery
By ALISON SIDER
The reconfigured crude distillation unit at BP's refinery in Whiting, Indiana, is up and running, bringing the company one major step closer to completing the modernization project at the facility.
BP has spent billions of dollars to upgrade the Whiting facility. The upgrade is aimed at allowing the refinery to process more heavy, sour crudes.
Work at the plant has been ongoing since 2008 and is now 95% done, the company said in a statement. Projects included a reconfiguration of the 250,000-bpd crude distillation unit -- the largest of three crude units, which are used to make gasoline. The project also included the addition of new coking capacity and processing units.
"The Whiting refinery project is at the heart of our US fuels strategy to operate sophisticated, feedstock-advantaged refineries tied to strong logistics and fuels markets," said Iain Conn, CEO of BP's refining and marketing segment. BP has said the upgrade will bring in an additional $1 billion in future operating cash flow.
"This world-class refinery is in the right location and will soon be running the right equipment to process growing supplies of North American crude oil, including oil from Canada."
The Whiting facility is BP's largest US refinery. With the startup of the reconfigured crude unit, the Whiting refinery can again process 413,000 bpd of crude.
Dow Jones Newswires
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