American Refining Group Inc.’s Bradford refinery operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with almost no exceptions.
One concession to this constant stream of production is the maintenance shutdown known as turnaround, which all refineries must undergo. During turnaround, the refinery’s process units are taken off-line for repair and refurbishment. ARG’s next maintenance shutdown is set to commence Friday.
A methodical procedure will be followed to safely bring down ARG’s process units and purge hydrocarbons from the system. During this process, the main refinery flare will be active; this is necessary to ensure the safety of everyone working here as well as our community.
Nearly all of ARG’s refinery personnel (approximately 200 employees) are involved in turnaround. Close to 100 contractors will also support the effort, the planning and scheduling for which began in September 2015.
“We conduct these major maintenance turnarounds approximately every 2 years to ensure the ongoing safe and reliable operation of our facility,” said Robin Augustine, ARG vice president of operations. “Because we operate around the clock, it requires a full process shutdown to accomplish this work.”
Bulk loading of gasoline and diesel fuel at Foster Brook as well as lubricant blending and packaging operations will continue during turnaround in order to serve customers without interruption.
A number of capital projects will also be completed during the shutdown. These include a new cooling tower for the Crude Unit distillation column and tie-ins for both the new natural-gas boiler and the new flare-gas-recovery unit.
“These projects will improve our refinery’s reliability and will allow us to meet new environmental standards,” Augustine stated.
Beyond increased vehicle traffic and some parking congestion around the refinery, the community should not be inconvenienced by the shutdown.
ARG President and Chief Operating Officer Jeannine Schoenecker said, “Our refinery is always a hive of activity, but that is even more true during turnaround; a significant number of employees, contractors, trucks, ATVs and heavy equipment will be moving about the facility throughout much of each day.
“Our top priority, in light of the increased activity and manpower needed to accomplish this massive undertaking, is to bring another 100 percent safe turnaround to a close late this month,” Schoenecker concluded.