GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — Marathon Petroleum Corp. said it is taking the next step toward a potential $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion upgrade to the company's Garyville refinery.
The company expects to make a final decision on the project by early 2015.
The company plans to file permit applications for the potential project with Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality at the end of April, having completed feasibility studies on the project.
The Advocate reports (https://bit.ly/1f9EumZ ) the St. John the Baptist Parish project would create 65 new jobs, with an average annual salary of $115,000 per year, plus benefits.
"If the company decides to move forward, it is anticipated that the construction would begin mid-2015 and be completed in 2018," said Rich Bedell, the company's senior vice president for refining.
"In addition to the potential refinery jobs, we would estimate that approximately 3,000 construction jobs will be created during the construction phase."
Marathon Petroleum operates a 522,000-barrel-per-day refinery at the site. The refinery employs 800 Marathon Petroleum employees and 650 contract workers.
Described by Marathon Petroleum as a Residual Oil Upgrade Expansion, the proposed project would enable the company to convert a byproduct of the refining process — heavy residual oil — into about 1.2 million gallons per day of ultra low-sulfur diesel at Garyville.
The project would include hydrotreating, hydrocracking and desulfurization equipment installations, along with buildings, tanks, cooling towers, and rail and electrical facilities.
The ROUX project would follow Marathon Petroleum's $3.9 billion refinery expansion in Garyville, one of the largest manufacturing projects in Louisiana history upon its completion in late 2009. Since that time, the Garyville refinery has more than doubled its refining capacity.
