"We are very unique in our own way," said Pat Chapman, Public Affairs Assistant to the refinery. "We can do a few things that other refineries aren't able to do."
The actual refinery began in Utah in March 1948. This 600-acre refining plant started as a simple 17,500-barrel-per-day plant that supplies propane, liquid sulfur for fertilization, and petroleum coke used in the manufacture of aluminum smelting anodes.
"We were a very small refinery in the beginning," said Chapman. "But we've grown quite a bit over the years. We currently produce about 45,000 barrels per day of all the products we make."
And officials contend they are doing their part in keeping the environment clean as well. With the advent of producing cleaner fluids around 1993, the refinery insists it has done its part in keeping the demands of sulfur out of gasoline. After lead was removed from gasoline in the late 1970s, the next step was the removal of as much sulfur as possible.
"During that year the refinery worked diligently to find a way to remove the sulfur from diesel fuel because of its hazardous effects to the climate," said Chapman. "By 2006, most refineries, including ourselves, were able to remove 99.7 percent of sulfur in diesel fuel, and about 97 percent from regular gasoline."
They also have a "downtime" of about a day or two, when they "shut down" certain areas of the plant in order to maintain and repair it.
"It doesn't happen that often," she said. "Each plant generally runs a full four or five years between these 'shutdown' periods. At that time, we refurbish and repair anything that needs fixing, then the plant is ready for another four to five years of operation."
What's more amazing is the money they put into refining all of their products. With 200 employees including operators, engineers, and mechanics as well as a host of contractors to handle "other" services, they have nearly $1 million worth of equipment for every employee who works there.
"Because refineries are expensive to build, operate, and maintain, there is a high capital investment present," said Chapman. "There's a lot at stake financially when something goes wrong, so each employee has a specific job once they show up for work."
The refinery's 45,000-barrels-per-day of refining capacity is still considered a "small" refinery. They still, however, have a large production rate thanks to the Chevron name attached to it.
"We produce over one million gallons of gasoline and 500,000 gallons of diesel fuel every day," said Chapman. "That's important considering that Utahns consume nearly three million gallons of gasoline every day from all the local refineries.
"This probably goes without saying, but without local refineries the state's economy would be worse compared to the rest of the nation. We don't think in terms of whether we're small or large, but rather what we do for the state of Utah."
sgillet@davisclipper.com
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