Pine Bend Refinery Overview and Facility Upgrades

The Pine Bend Refinery is a significant facility in the region, and it's worth taking a closer look at its overview and recent upgrades. Located in Rosemount, Minnesota, the refinery is one of the largest in the United States.

The refinery processes a vast amount of crude oil, with a daily capacity of over 320,000 barrels. This translates to a significant amount of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel being produced and distributed to various markets.

Pine Bend Refinery has undergone significant upgrades in recent years, including the installation of new equipment and processes to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. This investment has helped the refinery meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

The refinery's commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility is evident in its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and minimize its impact on the surrounding community.

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The Pine Bend Refinery has a rich history that spans over six decades. It was first constructed in 1955 by the Great Northern Oil Company.

The refinery's capacity has grown significantly over the years, increasing more than tenfold since Koch Industries purchased a controlling interest in 1969. This growth has been remarkable, to say the least.

As of 2001, Minnesotans were using a total of 7.2 million US gallons of gasoline per day. This is a staggering amount of fuel.

About 70% of the gasoline fuel used in the state comes from Pine Bend and the nearby St. Paul Park Refinery. This highlights the refinery's importance to the region.

Fuel use in the region continues to climb by about 2% annually. This steady increase is likely to continue, given the state's growing needs.

Only 40 to 50% of Pine Bend's output is used within the state. The rest is likely distributed to neighboring states and regions.

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The Pine Bend Refinery has undergone significant facility improvements over the years.

In 2012, the company proposed a $400 million upgrade to increase the refinery's processing capacity and reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide.

The upgrade aimed to move the refinery closer to its design capacity of 320,000 barrels of crude per day and reduce emissions by 2% of Minnesota's total greenhouse-gas emissions, about 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.

The projects involved replacing three less-efficient heaters with two state-of-the-art model heaters, upgrading an existing process heater, and improving the cooling towers.

These improvements are expected to increase the average daily contract workforce to more than 1,000 workers.

Since 1997, the Pine Bend refinery has lowered emissions of traditional criteria pollutants by approximately 70 percent, while increasing production to meet demand for transportation fuel.

The new projects will result in a decrease in NOx and sulfur dioxide emissions.

The refinery is implementing best available control technology to minimize other emissions.

The projects are subject to regulatory review and will require a permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The refinery expects to begin construction on the projects in 2014.

The projects, estimated at approximately $400M, are expected to create as many as four million hours of new work.

Pine Bend currently employs more than 900 people full-time and can have between 400 and 2,000 contract workers on-site on any given day.

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The refinery has invested about $2 billion in emission control and efficiency technology since Minnesota regulators fined it $6.9 million in 1998 for spills and oil leaks into the nearby Mississippi River.

The facility has lowered emissions of traditional pollutants by about 70% as it increases production of diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, asphalt, and other petroleum-based products.

In 2021, it received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star certification as a top-quartile performer among refineries for energy efficiency.

The refinery has also implemented innovative technologies, such as a generator that uses natural gas and biowaste to provide 40% of the electric energy needed to power the refinery.

Another technological play allows Pine Bend to convert sulfur pollution emitted from motor fuel refining into a liquid fertilizer product for area farmers.

This technology has resulted in a slight increase in GHG emissions, but it also helps meet federal government requirements for producing lower-sulfur, cleaner-burning fuels.

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The Pine Bend Refinery has made significant strides in reducing its environmental impact.

The site was placed on the National Priorities List in 1986, and recovery efforts were implemented between 1988 and 2004 to recover oil spilled in the storage tank area.

By 1999, FHR had begun making changes to improve efficiency and minimize environmental impact, and by 2005, the refinery was producing more fuel while cutting harmful emissions by more than 50 percent.

The refinery has won multiple awards for its safety record, including the Governor's Safety Award for Outstanding Achievement, and has been recognized for its sustained track record of safety performance.

Pine Bend received four safety awards at the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA) conference in 2001, and earned a Clear Air Award from the EPA in 2004.

The refinery has also saved 8.7 million kilowatt hours of energy in 2006, earning the Minnesota Conservation Award from Xcel Energy.

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Pine Bend has been a MNSTAR-designated site since 2005, indicating a safe workplace with effective safety and health-management systems.

The refinery earned the Wastewater Treatment Facility Operational Award in 2011 and the Operator Award in 2010 from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Since 1998, Flint Hills has invested about $2 billion in emission control and efficiency technology, as well as restoring 1,600 acres of the Pine Bend Bluffs nature preserve along the Mississippi River.

The refinery has lowered emissions of traditional pollutants by about 70% as it increases production of diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, asphalt, and other petroleum-based products.

Pine Bend received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star certification as a top-quartile performer among refineries for energy efficiency in 2021.

The refinery has also completed a generator that uses natural gas and biowaste to provide 40% of the electric energy needed to power the refinery, and is constructing a solar plant to raise its internal power generation to 50%.

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Flint Hills Resources has a long history of investing in emission control and efficiency technology, with about $2 billion invested since 1998. This effort has led to a significant reduction in traditional pollutants, with emissions lowered by about 70%.

The Pine Bend refinery has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star certification as a top-quartile performer among refineries for energy efficiency in 2021. This recognition is a testament to the company's commitment to reducing its environmental impact.

Flint Hills Resources is a subsidiary of Koch Industries, a company that has historically been resistant to regulations and pollution controls. However, Pine Bend has bucked this trend, becoming one of the most efficient and cleanest refineries in the country.

The company has implemented various innovative technologies to reduce its environmental impact, including a generator that uses natural gas and biowaste to provide 40% of the electric energy needed to power the refinery. This has resulted in a slight increase in greenhouse gas emissions, but overall, the refinery's emissions have decreased.

Pine Bend is also constructing a solar plant to raise its internal power generation to 50%. This move will help reduce the refinery's reliance on external energy sources and decrease its carbon footprint.

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The Pine Bend Refinery has undergone significant expansion and development over the years. One notable example is the construction of a new coker unit in 2009, which increased the refinery's capacity to process more heavy and residual feedstocks.

This expansion allowed the refinery to produce more gasoline, diesel fuel, and other petroleum products. The coker unit also reduced the refinery's reliance on outside suppliers and improved its overall efficiency.

The refinery has continued to invest in new technologies and equipment to stay competitive in the market. For instance, a new hydrotreater unit was installed in 2011 to remove impurities from the refinery's products.

This investment has paid off, with the refinery reporting significant increases in production and profitability. The new equipment has also enabled the refinery to produce a wider range of petroleum products, including more ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel.

The Pine Bend Refinery's expansion and development plans are closely tied to the needs of its parent company, Marathon Petroleum. The refinery's ability to adapt to changing market conditions and regulatory requirements has been critical to its success.

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