BP gets to work on refinery expansion, will be top processor of heavy Canadian crude oil

BP wasted little time getting to work after receiving the final state approval needed for a $3.8 billion expansion of its Whiting, Ind., oil refinery. Crews began piling work and laying foundations May 1, just hours after the state approved the air emissions permit, BP spokeswoman Valerie Corr said.

“We are just ecstatic,” said Paul Maday, business manager and secretary-treasurer for Boilermakers Local 374 in Hammond, Ind., which does maintenance work at the refinery. “The boilermakers have supported this project since it was first presented to us a couple of years ago from BP Amoco. It’s going to mean a lot of employment for our members.”

BP has said the expanded refinery would be the nation’s top processor of heavy high-sulfur Canadian crude oil, boosting its annual production of gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel by 15 percent to about 4.7 billion gallons annually. Some 1,700 people work at the 119-year-old refinery.

Environmentalists who opposed the permit said they will spend the next 18 days deciding whether to challenge the permit in court.

BP’s construction permit is valid until construction is completed. After that, BP will need an operational permit, called a Title V permit. EPA Region 5 spokesman Bill Omohundro said the agency was working with the state to ensure that the Title V permit meets Clean Air Act requirements.

—The Associated Press