20th Sep 2006 15:03
BP PLC20 September 2006 September 20, 2006 BP PLANS $3 BILLION PROJECT TO REFINE MORE CANADIAN HEAVY CRUDE OIL IN THE U.S. MIDWEST Investment at Whiting, Indiana refinery also brings potential to add about 1.7million US gallons per day of motor fuels Whiting, Indiana -- BP announced today that it has entered the final planningstage of a $3 billion investment in Canadian heavy crude oil processing at itsWhiting Refinery located in northwest Indiana. BP America Inc. Chairman and President Bob Malone said the company intends toreconfigure its Whiting Refinery so most of its feedstock can be heavy Canadiancrude oil. Reconfiguring the refinery also has the potential to increase itsproduction of motor fuels by about 15 percent, which is about 1.7 millionadditional gallons of gasoline and diesel per day. "BP is pleased to invest in a project important to the economies of both theUnited States and Canada," Malone said. "BP's investment increases thediversity and security of oil supplies that can be refined into gasoline, dieseland other petroleum products in demand by consumers in the Midwestern UnitedStates. It also provides a significant market for Canada's abundant heavy crudeoil resources." The Whiting Refinery currently produces about 4.5 billion gallons oftransportation fuels each year, enough to supply more than 5 million vehicles."After our investment, the refinery will have the potential to supply motorfuels to about 6 million automobiles," Malone said. Construction of the project is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2007 and becompleted by 2011, pending regulatory approvals. Speaking at a briefing held today in Indiana with Indiana Governor Mitch Danielsand other government and business leaders, BP's Group Vice President forRefining Mike Hoffman said the Whiting Refinery is optimally located in the U.S.Midwest and has substantial capacity for reconfiguration as well as effectiveinfrastructure to support this project. "The planned investment will modernize the refinery with equipment ofsignificant size and scale and competitively reposition it as a top tierrefinery well into the future," Hoffman explained. "Following our most recentreview of project plans, BP is proceeding with detailed engineering, permittingand procurement to progress this project to construction by the end of nextyear." "During this final planning period, we will continue to detail and alignconstruction and refinery operations plans to ensure both are conducted safely,"Hoffman said. "We also will conduct a rigorous inspection program to ensure thatreplacement and reconfigured equipment meets or exceeds industry standards andour expectations for ongoing integrity and reliability of refinery operations." "We appreciate BP's choice of Indiana for this massive, landmark project," saidGovernor Daniels. "In capital investment this is the largest we've had, and moreconstruction workers will be hired for this project than to build the newIndiana Stadium and Convention Center. The eyes of the whole state are onNorthwest Indiana today, as they should be. This marks another huge step inIndiana's economic comeback." The project will increase capacity for coking, hydrogen production,hydrotreating and sulfur recovery. The replacement processing units andenhancements to existing refinery units will increase Canadian heavy crude oilprocessing capability by about 260,000 barrels per day. Hoffman reported that BP continues to make progress to complete agreements withproviders for heavy oil production, pipeline access, engineering, procurementand construction. Dan Sajkowski, BP Whiting Refinery Manager and Vice President of BP ProductsNorth America Inc., said the company's planned investment is expected to createjobs for approximately 2,500 workers during the peak of its three-yearconstruction phase and 60 to 80 permanent full-time employees to operateenhanced processing units and other refinery improvements. "We are fortunate that Northwest Indiana has an experienced workforce that cansupport a major construction project such as the one we have planned," Sajkowskisaid. State and local government support of economic development and infrastructureimprovement also enables this investment in Indiana, according to Sajkowski."We appreciate the attractive business environment provided by the State ofIndiana and the cities of East Chicago, Hammond and Whiting." BP is one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, serving about 13 millioncustomers every day in more than 100 countries across six continents. BP'sbusiness segments are Exploration and Production; Refining and Marketing; andGas, Power and Renewables, which includes its Alternative Energy business.Through these business segments, BP provides fuel for transportation, energy forheat and light, retail services, and petrochemicals products. For moreinformation, visit www.bp.com. Notes to Editors: •BP owns or has part ownership in 19 refineries worldwide with an operating share of 2.8 million barrels of crude oil per day distillation capacity. Of these refineries, five are in the United States with about 1.5 million barrels a day; nine are in Europe with about 900,000 barrels a day; and five are in other parts of the world with about 400,000 barrels a day. BP also has access to five other refineries in Russia and the former Soviet Union through its joint venture with TNK. •BP's US refineries are located in Carson, California, (260,000 bpd); Cherry Point, Washington (232,000 bpd); Texas City, Texas, (470,000 bpd); Toledo, Ohio (155,000 bpd) and Whiting, Indiana (405,000 bpd). •The proposed Whiting Canadian extra heavy oil project includes installing the following major process units and upgrades to existing equipment: •A world-scale coking unit, a revamped crude distillation unit and petroleum coke handling facilities that triple resid conversion capacity •A hydrogen production plant •A gas oil hydrotreater and revamped existing hydrotreaters to maintain compliance with sulfur specifications for fuels •Sulfur recovery facilities •Refinery infrastructure facilities to support the additional heavy crude oil processing Media enquiries: Scott Dean, BP Press Relations, Chicago office: 630-821-3212Hejdi Feick, BP Canada Public Affairs, Calgary office: 403-233-1033Wendy Silcock, BP Press Relations, London office: 44-20-7496-4358Weston Sedgwick, Indiana Economic Development Corporation: 317-232-8873 - ENDS - This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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