Oil prices climb. Leftists complain that our need for oil colors our middle
east policies. There is a shortage of refinery capacity in the US
And yet what happens when someone tries to do something about it?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/24/BAGN4PEKQK13.DTL
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Big turnout over oil refinery's expansion plan
Residents split on issue that will add jobs and emissions
Jason B. Johnson, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
(04-24) 23:13 PDT -- Local residents turned out in force Tuesday
night
at a Contra Costa County Planning Commission meeting, about half opposing
and the other half sup****ting ConocoPhillips Co.'s plan to increase
refining
capacity and output at its Rodeo refinery by 30 percent.
Sup****ters said the refinery has been a good neighbor and welcomed
the
addition of new jobs while critics accused the company of having a
checkered
safety record.
Under its "Clean Fuels Expansion Project," the refinery would
increase
production by up to 1 million gallons per day -- 30 percent over current
levels -- by upgrading and adding new equipment enabling it to process
heavy
gas oil (HGO), which is a by-product currently produced at the plant and
ex****ted.
The refinery is located just off Interstate 80 in Rodeo, an
unincor****ated town in Contra Costa County. ConocoPhillips officials asked
the commission to approve its plans during the meeting in Martinez on
Tuesday. But after three-and-a-half hours, the commission suspended the
meeting and its decision until May 8.
The expansion includes construction of a hydrogen plant with a
capacity of 120 million standard cubic feet per day, a hydrocracker with a
capacity of 23,000 barrels per day, a sulfur recovery unit with a capacity
of 200 tons per day, and a butane rail loading facility.
"Our project is going to increase California's supply of
clean-burning
gas and diesel by 1 million gallons per day,'' Mark Hughes, spokesman for
ConocoPhillips, told commissioners,adding that the changes would not
expand
the "footprint" of the facility.
Hughessaid the expansion would create hundreds of new jobs at the
refinery.
Upgrades would also be made to units that blend and process fuel and
to the refinery's sulfur recovery plant, and would increase sulfur storage
capacity. Further upgrades would be made to pumps, heat exchangers,
piping,
instrumentation and utilities.
The new equipment would be constructed on approximately 9 acres west
of I-80, within the refinery's 495-acre developed area. Critics say the
expansion goes against the state's efforts to cut greenhouse gases and
increases the risk of toxic contamination of residents in Crocket and
Rodeo.
"We have no reason to believe they would keep their promises,'' said
Carla Perez, a member of the watchdog group Communities for a Better
Environment in Oakland.
The watchdog group claims the refinery already produces a "toxic
soup"
that forces its neighbors to live with recurrent odors, high levels of air
pollution and increased health risks.
The group said higher production would increase the emission of
sulfur
oxides, nitrogen and other contaminants, and result in increased flaring
--
burning off waste of flammable gas and liquids during unplanned
over-pressuring of plant equipment.
It also questioned the quality of a county environmental impact
re****t
on the proposal.
"Low income people of color living near this refinery cannot
continue
to bear such a dispro****tionate burden in gas production. This is a
serious
environmental justice issue that the EIR has disturbingly minimized," CBE
staff attorney Adrienne Bloch said in a statement.
But about half the crowd, including refinery workers who said they
live in the area, said they sup****t the refinery's plans.
Among the sup****ters was Michael Roth, superintendent of John Swett
Unified School District, who said the refinery has been a good neighbor
that
sup****ts local schools.
County officials said it's not clear that increased production at
the
refinery would result in more flares. And Randy Sawyer, director of the
county hazardous materials program, said the refinery in recent years has
had no major safety problems.
"For the last few years ConocoPhillips has been operating from a
safety record standpoint very well. They've had some flaring incidents,
but
the (overall) safety record has been (good)," said Sawyer.
ConocoPhillips has the smallest output of any oil refinery in the
county. It produces a little more than 100,000 barrels per day. Chevron's
Richmond refinery produces more than 225,000 barrels per day, Shell and
Tesoro in Martinez each produce about 160,000 barrels per day.
E-mail Jason B. Johnson at jbjohnson@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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