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Whiting Refinery

The Whiting Refinery is a major processing facility in , approximately 17 miles southeast of downtown , owned and operated by plc since 1998. Originally established in 1889 by of as part of John D. Rockefeller's operations, it spans 1,400 acres and holds a crude oil capacity of about 440,000 barrels per day, ranking as the largest in the U.S. Midwest, BP's largest worldwide, and the sixth-largest in the United States overall. The processes heavy and sour crudes into transportation fuels such as , , and , supplying markets across the Midwest and contributing significantly to northwest 's economy through employment and local investments exceeding billions of dollars over decades. Despite its economic role, the facility has been embroiled in environmental controversies, including Clean Air Act violations leading to a 2012 EPA settlement for excessive flaring and failure to control emissions, as well as ongoing discharges of toxic substances like mercury, , , and into and surrounding waterways, positioning it among the nation's worst industrial water polluters according to environmental analyses. Recent operational disruptions, such as power outages, fires, and unplanned flaring in 2023–2025, have prompted temporary shutdowns, evacuations, and community concerns over air quality impacts from volatile organic compounds and other pollutants released during maintenance and incidents.

History

Founding and Standard Oil Era

The Whiting Refinery was founded in 1889 when John D. Rockefeller's Trust established a subsidiary, , specifically to develop refining operations in the region. The site in —then unincorporated marshland along —was selected for its strategic proximity to Chicago's markets, rail connections, and water access for crude oil imports via the and for product distribution. Construction of the facility began that year, transforming the area into one of the earliest large-scale refineries west of Pennsylvania's oil fields. Refinery operations commenced in 1890, initially focusing on kerosene production for lighting, which dominated demand in the late as the primary refined . By the mid-1890s, as automobile adoption grew, the facility adapted to increase output, leveraging its scale to process crude from Midwestern sources and emerging fields. Standard Oil's supplied reliable crude feedstock, enabling the Whiting plant to expand rapidly; by the early 1900s, it employed thousands and featured advanced units, positioning it as a key node in the trust's national network. A pivotal innovation occurred in 1908 when Whiting chemists William M. Burton and Robert E. Humphreys developed the first commercial thermal cracking process, which applied heat and pressure to break heavy crude fractions into lighter components, boosting yields by up to 50% over straight methods. Patented and scaled at the refinery, this breakthrough—driven by surging automotive fuel needs—solidified Whiting's role in 's technological edge, with the plant producing more than New York's entire customs district by 1919. The era ended with the U.S. antitrust dissolution of the Trust, after which the subsidiary operated independently while retaining its foundational infrastructure and expertise.

20th Century Expansion and Operations

In the early , the Whiting Refinery expanded through key technological innovations to adapt to rising automobile demand for . In 1913, of installed the first pressure at the facility, employing William M. Burton's thermal cracking process, which subjected heavier hydrocarbons to high heat and pressure to yield significantly more from each barrel of crude compared to straight methods. This advancement, transitioning from batch to continuous operations, boosted efficiency and profitability, with the addition of a sixth battery of continuous by 1920 further enhancing throughput. Infrastructure developments supported operational growth, including pipeline connections by to oil fields in , , , and , which secured feedstock supplies of high-sulfur crude. Capacity, which stood at 36,000 barrels per day in the mid-1890s, scaled up progressively through these investments, reaching 200,000 barrels per day by the 1950s amid post-World War II demand surges. Logistics leveraged proximity to railroads and , enabling bulk shipments; in 1919, the refinery dispatched more via Great Lakes vessels in 10.5 months than New York exported in a full year, averting shortages in industrial hubs like . Operations centered on refining sour crude into , , lubricants, and waxes, employing up to 2,400 workers by and over 7,000 by mid-century, drawing labor from surrounding communities. The facility's scale—spanning over 1,600 acres by the —positioned it as the largest inland refinery in the U.S., underpinning of Indiana's dominance until its evolution into , with the Whiting site remaining the company's core asset through branding shifts in the and structural changes in 1985.

Acquisition by BP

The Whiting Refinery transferred to BP ownership through the merger between British Petroleum () and Corporation, announced on August 11, 1998, as a stock-for-stock transaction valued at approximately $48.2 billion. This deal positioned the combined entity, initially named BP Amoco, as one of the world's largest integrated oil companies, incorporating Amoco's U.S.-based refining assets, including the Whiting facility, which Amoco had operated since its rebranding from (Indiana) in 1985. The merger received regulatory approval from the U.S. on December 30, 1998, with conditions requiring divestitures of certain gas stations and terminals to address antitrust concerns, though these did not directly affect the Whiting Refinery's operations. The transaction closed on , 1998, marking the refinery's integration into 's global portfolio without immediate structural changes to its Midwest operations. Amoco was renamed in 2001, solidifying the refinery's place under the multinational's control.

Operations and Technical Specifications

Capacity and Processing Capabilities

The Whiting Refinery, operated by in , possesses an atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity of 440,000 barrels per day, positioning it as the largest refinery in the Midwest region. This capacity supports the processing of diverse crude oil feedstocks into transportation fuels and other products, with the facility employing approximately 1,500 personnel to manage operations. Equipped with advanced downstream units, including coking facilities, the refinery achieves a of 12, enabling efficient conversion of heavier, lower-quality crudes into higher-value products such as , , and . Post-2013 , investments exceeding $1.5 billion over the subsequent decade doubled its capability to handle heavy crudes, enhancing flexibility amid varying global oil supplies. The configuration includes specialized units for hydrocracking and , contributing to its output of a broad spectrum of refined liquids critical to Midwest distribution networks.

Product Output and Logistics

The Whiting Refinery produces a range of transportation fuels, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, which supply demand across the U.S. Midwest, including aviation needs at airports in Detroit and Chicago. These outputs stem from processing approximately 440,000 barrels of crude oil per day, with the facility serving as a key supplier representing up to 25% of regional refined products when fully operational. Additionally, the refinery manufactures asphalt, making it one of BP's largest such producers in North America. Product distribution relies on multiple modes to deliver fuels to terminals, pipelines, and end-users nationwide. Primary transport occurs via dedicated product pipelines, such as BP's Midwest originating at the refinery, which conveys , , and other refined products southward and to regional markets. Supplemental logistics include rail cars, trucks, and barges, leveraging the site's proximity to rail lines and the Harbor and Ship for waterborne shipment across and connected waterways. This multimodal approach ensures efficient delivery amid varying demand, though disruptions like floods or fires can strain regional supply chains dependent on these routes.

Modernization and Upgrades

The 2008-2013 Expansion Project

In May 2008, initiated the Whiting Modernization Project at its refinery in , aimed at reconfiguring processing units to handle a higher proportion of heavy, sour Canadian crude oil, increasing its share from approximately 30% to up to 80%. The project sought to enhance the refinery's competitiveness by processing growing supplies of North American heavy crudes, thereby unlocking an estimated $1 billion in annual incremental operating cash flow upon completion. Key additions included a new 250,000-barrels-per-day crude , a 102,000-barrels-per-day coker, and a 105,000-barrels-per-day gasoil hydrotreater, enabling an overall increase of 260,000 barrels per day in heavy crude processing capacity and boosting annual petrol and diesel output by 4.7 billion gallons, or about 15%. These upgrades restored the refinery's total atmospheric crude capacity to 413,000 barrels per day while improving yields of higher-value products. The project employed over 10,000 contractors at its peak and involved major firms such as for construction management and for coking units and heaters. The initiative included substantial environmental investments totaling around $1.4 billion, comprising a $500 million sulfur recovery complex and $150 million in upgrades to meet regulatory standards for air emissions and . Overall project costs were reported at $3.8 billion for core modernization, though some contemporaneous accounts cited $4.2 billion including environmental components. Construction faced setbacks in late , including a 30- to 45-day delay in restarting a 260,000-barrels-per-day sour crude unit due to unspecified issues, which postponed coker commissioning to August 2013. also filed a against contractors over defective fireproofing materials that caused , though no safety risks were identified. Milestones included startup of the new crude unit on July 1, 2013, with the project reaching over 95% completion by that date; the coker came online in mid-November 2013, and all major units achieved full commissioning by December 18, 2013. Ramp-up of heavy crude processing continued into early 2014, positioning the refinery to better serve Midwest fuel markets with increased flexibility for sour crudes.

Technological Implementations and Capacity Increases

The Whiting Refinery implemented advanced processing units during the 2008-2013 modernization, including a new 102,000-barrel-per-day capable of handling heavier crudes, a 105,000-barrel-per-day gasoil hydrotreater for improved quality, and a 102,000-barrel-per-day to convert heavy residues into lighter products. These additions, combined with revamped hydrotreaters and new sulfur recovery units, enabled the refinery to process up to 260,000 barrels per day of Canadian , shifting feedstock utilization from 30% heavy to 80-90% heavy grades while maintaining overall throughput at approximately 440,000 barrels per day. The upgrades quadrupled the site's heavy-crude processing capacity and increased and output by 4.7 million gallons per day, prioritizing efficiency for tar sands without expanding total crude intake. In 2016, upgraded the process control systems on two (FCC) units using 's DeltaV , which integrated seamlessly during operation to enhance reliability, reduce downtime, and optimize yields without halting production. This technology improved and response to variables like catalyst performance and feedstock variability, supporting sustained capacity for cracking heavy intermediates into transportation fuels. Plans for further capacity expansion via blue hydrogen production emerged in 2023 as part of the federally funded MachH2 Midwest hydrogen hub, targeting integration of hydrogen generation with carbon capture and storage (CCS) at the refinery to produce low-carbon fuels and support up to 16,000 construction jobs. Estimated at $6-9 billion, the project aimed to leverage existing infrastructure for hydrogen output potentially exceeding traditional refining limits, but BP indefinitely paused development in June 2025 due to economic and regulatory challenges, halting implementation of associated electrolysis and CCS technologies.

Operational Challenges and Incidents

Mechanical Failures and Shutdowns Pre-2020

In August 2015, BP's Whiting Refinery experienced an unplanned shutdown of its largest crude oil unit (CDU), Pipestill 12, with a of approximately 240,000 barrels per day, due to leaks in overhead connected to heat exchangers. The mechanical failure reduced the refinery's overall throughput by an estimated 100,000 to 140,000 barrels per day, primarily affecting production, and required about one month for repairs. This incident contributed to a spike in Midwest prices, with spot prices rising by 60 cents per gallon to $2.47 per gallon on August 11, 2015. Earlier, on August 27, 1955, a major at the Whiting Refinery—then processing over 200,000 barrels of crude per day—destroyed the Fluid Hydroformer Unit 700 during startup, triggered by air leakage into the recycle system allowing ignition of contaminated vapors, exacerbated by design flaws underestimating risks. The initiated an eight-day that consumed 67 storage tanks, necessitating a partial shutdown to isolate affected areas and contain the blaze, with no fatalities but nine employee injuries from the initial and further injuries during . Operations resumed full capacity by November 20, 1955, following rapid reconstruction including a new ultraformer unit completed within 11 months. These pre-2020 incidents highlight recurring vulnerabilities in aging or high-pressure equipment at the facility, though comprehensive records of minor mechanical issues leading to brief unit shutdowns are limited in public sources prior to BP's acquisition in 1998. No large-scale mechanical shutdowns were widely reported between 1955 and 2015, amid ongoing expansions and maintenance efforts.

Recent Disruptions (2020-2025)

On 24, 2022, an electrical fire erupted at BP's Whiting refinery, resulting in the loss of electrical power and cooling water systems, which prompted a full shutdown for damage assessment and repairs. The incident led to a phased restart beginning late , with no reported injuries or off-site impacts, but it disrupted regional supplies, prompting the U.S. EPA to issue waivers for and specifications in affected Midwest states including , , , and . In February 2024, a on February 1 forced the to shut down entirely, evacuating employees from office buildings and activating emergency response protocols, including flaring operations. Power was restored shortly after, but the facility remained offline for weeks to inspect equipment and ensure safe restart, contributing to elevated spot prices for products at the trading hub. Full normal operations resumed by March 18, 2024. On December 26, 2024, a occurred in an underground supply line transporting liquid materials within the refinery's tank field, releasing odors including detectable in surrounding areas of and parts of the region. BP contained the without a full operational shutdown, monitoring air quality and reporting normal refinery operations thereafter. Severe thunderstorms on August 19, 2025, caused flooding that shut down multiple processing units at the refinery for over a week, with flaring reported during the event. Restart efforts began soon after, aiming for full rates by early the following week, though the outage strained Midwest fuel supplies and contributed to forecasts of peak regional gasoline prices for the year. An operational incident on October 16, 2025, ignited a at the , which was extinguished the next morning, leaving multiple units offline amid ongoing planned turnaround activities projected to last two months. A subsequent external power disruption on October 24 prompted a temporary evacuation and activation of emergency measures, but power was restored the same day, allowing operations to resume. These events, coinciding with flaring, heightened concerns over short-term availability in the .

Environmental Performance

Air and Water Emissions Data

The BP Whiting Refinery reports air emissions data primarily through the U.S. Agency's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and National Emissions Inventory, with fenceline monitoring for , , and under a . In 2021, TRI data indicated on-site releases including hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) such as , though specific annual totals for recent years show reported emissions at approximately 1.22 metric tons per year from 2016 to 2018, later found by EPA to be underreported. A 2023 Clean Air Act settlement addressed violations, projecting reductions of 372 tons per year in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 28 tons per year in HAPs, including an estimated 7 tons per year in , through installation of controls on major sources like fluid catalytic crackers. (PM) exceedances were noted in stack tests for the FCU 500 catalytic cracker as of 2024, prompting ongoing compliance efforts. Water emissions are regulated under NPDES permit IN0000108, authorizing discharges of approximately 18 million gallons per day of non-contact cooling water, treated process , and into via multiple outfalls. In 2021, the refinery discharged 30,765,849 pounds of , alongside other pollutants lacking stringent limits such as nitrates, which totaled millions of pounds over prior permit terms without caps. Mercury discharges exceeded daily limits of 3.2 ng/L in (year unspecified in report but tied to recent monitoring), reaching 9.2 ng/L, with permit renewal proposals in 2025 criticized for insufficient controls on mercury, , , , and lead. Historical violations, including exceedances in 2011, led to a 2016 EPA agreement for enhanced treatment systems.

Regulatory Actions, Compliance, and Reductions

In 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) entered a consent decree with BP Products North America Inc. (BPP) to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violations stemming from the refinery's expansion project, requiring over $400 million in investments for pollution controls and mitigation measures across multiple units. This decree mandated enhanced monitoring, emission limits, and operational changes to address excess emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter during construction and startup phases. Subsequent enforcement addressed particulate matter exceedances from fluid catalytic crackers (FCUs). In April 2021, a federal judge ruled BP liable for years of violations exceeding permitted limits for fine particulate matter from FCU 500 and FCU 600, based on stack test data showing releases above opacity and mass emission thresholds. In December 2021, BPP settled with EPA, paying a $512,450 civil penalty and committing to increased use of electrostatic precipitators and other controls to capture soot during startups, shutdowns, and malfunctions, aiming to reduce particulate emissions from these units. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) approved related state air permits in 2022, incorporating federal opacity rules to limit visible emissions during FCU operations. The largest federal penalty to date occurred in May 2023, when EPA and DOJ settled violations for benzene waste operations and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, including breaches of the 2012 decree. BPP paid $40 million total ($31.4 million plus $8.6 million in stipulated penalties) and agreed to install systems, upgrade storage tanks, and implement real-time monitoring, projecting annual reductions of 372 tons of VOCs, 28 tons of , and 1,100 tons of hazardous air pollutants upon full compliance. BPP also funded a $5 million supplemental project to cut diesel emissions in surrounding communities via infrastructure. These actions reflect a pattern of federal and state oversight enforcing compliance through penalties and mandated technologies, with coordinating on permits and investigations into flaring and exceedances, such as a $262,560 penalty in 2024 for violations. Ongoing decree terms require BPP to submit compliance reports and conduct third-party audits, though environmental groups note persistent exceedances prompting further litigation.

Criticisms and Community Health Claims

The Whiting Refinery has faced criticism from environmental advocacy groups and local residents for its air and water emissions, which they argue contribute to adverse health effects in surrounding communities, including higher incidences of respiratory illnesses and potential carcinogenic risks. The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) has highlighted chemical leaks, elevated emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and inadequate monitoring at the facility, linking these to broader public health concerns in northwest Indiana's industrial corridor. In 2019, the successfully sued for exceeding limits on fine (PM2.5), a associated with exacerbations, heart attacks, and premature mortality, prompting a settlement that required emission reductions. Community health claims often center on acute symptoms reported during operational incidents, such as odors, headaches, and respiratory irritation from or releases, with residents in nearby Whiting and East expressing fears of long-term exposure to toxins like mercury and discharged into . BP's 2023 Clean Air Act settlement with the EPA, involving a $40 million penalty and cuts to over 200 tons annually of —a known leukemogen—and other VOCs, acknowledged that such emissions contribute to formation, which irritates lungs and worsens breathing difficulties, particularly for vulnerable populations. Advocacy groups like ELPC assert that the refinery's proximity to low-income neighborhoods amplifies these risks, citing general epidemiological patterns where refinery correlates with elevated and cancer rates, though site-specific causal data for Whiting remains limited to pollutant toxicity profiles rather than resident cohort studies. Water pollution critiques focus on the refinery's permitted discharges of , , and , ranked among the nation's highest by volume in independent analyses, with potential harming aquatic life and indirectly affecting human consumers via consumption or sources. Residents and groups such as Hoosier Environmental Council have urged stricter permits during renewals, claiming neurotoxic effects from mercury and endocrine disruption from exacerbate community vulnerabilities, including developmental risks in children. These claims have driven calls for enhanced regulatory oversight, though maintains compliance with limits and attributes incidents to operational necessities in a high-capacity facility processing 440,000 barrels per day.

Economic and Strategic Importance

Employment and Local Economic Contributions

The Whiting Refinery, operated by in , directly employs approximately 1,500 workers, supplemented by an average of 1,500 contractors engaged in ongoing operations and maintenance. These positions span roles such as chemical and mechanical engineers, operators, and technicians, contributing to a stable workforce in . 's broader operations in employ over 2,700 individuals across facilities, with the refinery serving as a primary hub. The refinery's activities generate substantial indirect employment, supporting more than 90,000 jobs across the Midwest region through supply chains, logistics, and related industries. In Indiana specifically, BP's economic footprint, anchored by Whiting, sustains over 18,000 jobs statewide via vendor contracts and downstream effects. This multiplier effect arises from the facility's role in processing up to 440,000 barrels of crude oil daily, fueling demand for local services and manufacturing inputs. Economically, the refinery injected $445 million into the local in 2023 through expenditures with over 125 vendors, predominantly in the , alongside generating more than $38 million in state tax revenue. In , supplier spending exceeded $1 billion, bolstering businesses in , transportation, and equipment supply. These contributions position the refinery as a foundational element of Whiting's , historically tied to oil refining since its origins under , by providing high-wage industrial jobs and fiscal inflows that support municipal services and infrastructure.

Role in Midwest Energy Supply and National Security

The BP-operated Whiting Refinery in processes approximately 440,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it the largest refinery in the Midwest and the eighth-largest in the United States overall. This capacity enables the production of a broad array of transportation fuels, including , , and , which are distributed to states throughout the Midwest region. The facility's output supports daily fuel demands equivalent to the average travel of more than 7 million vehicles, sustaining regional mobility for civilian, commercial, and aviation sectors, including supplies to airports in areas like . Recent operational disruptions, such as fires and flooding in , have demonstrated the refinery's outsized influence on Midwest energy stability, with temporary shutdowns triggering price increases of 20-27 cents per gallon and straining local supply networks. Primarily configured to handle heavy crudes from and domestic sources, Whiting mitigates regional vulnerabilities to interruptions by providing an inland processing alternative to coastal facilities. Its role extends to bolstering the broader infrastructure, where it annually generates billions of gallons of refined products essential for and industrial operations across the heartland. From a perspective, the Whiting Refinery functions as the most critical inland processing node in the United States, underpinning continuity amid multi-vector threats such as physical disruptions or geopolitical pressures on imports. By refining predominantly North American-sourced heavy oils, it reduces U.S. exposure to overseas refined product dependencies, enhancing for , emergency response, and in a vital to national defense infrastructure. Analyses of potential risks highlight its strategic value, as inland diversification like Whiting's counters coastal bottlenecks and supports broader efforts to maintain domestic refining capacity amid fluctuating global crude dynamics.

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