BP nears completion of work to modernize Whiting refinery in Indiana

BY ROSE MARTON-VITALE

BP said the completion of the modernization project at its Whiting refinery in Indiana remains on track for the end of June.

The project, which required the shutdown in November of Pipestill 12, the refinery's largest of three crude units, will enable the refinery to process up to about 85% heavy crude, compared to 20% before completion, by reconfiguring the crude unit and starting up a new delayed coker unit to replace an old one.

It is now the second-largest delayed coker in the world, at about 102,000 bpd.

A person familiar with refinery operations said the process of starting major, brand new grass roots equipment like BP Whiting's is methodical and involves a lot of steps, including introducing oil, but that doesn't mean streams will be coming off the tower in the next few days.

"A lot of testing has to be done and oil has to go in to check for leaks and other problems," the person said.

The Whiting refinery has the capacity to process up to 413,000 bpd of oil, and producing up to 15 million gallons of refined products.



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