HollyFrontier to expand refinery in Utah

Jan. 4, 2012
HollyFrontier Corp. will expand crude capacity at its 31,000-b/d refinery at Woods Cross, Utah, to 45,000 b/d with idle equipment from Western Refining Inc.’s facility at Bloomfield, NM.

HollyFrontier Corp. will expand crude capacity at its 31,000-b/d refinery at Woods Cross, Utah, to 45,000 b/d with idle equipment from Western Refining Inc.’s facility at Bloomfield, NM.

HollyFrontier will move and revamp the crude, fluid catalytic cracking, and polymerization units from the Bloomfield refinery, operations of which were consolidated with Western’s 23,000 b/d Gallup, NM, refinery, about 95 miles away, in 2010 (OGJ Online, Nov. 10, 2009). Western acquired the New Mexico refineries from Giant Industries Inc. in 2006.

HollyFrontier has signed a definitive agreement to buy the Bloomfield units from Western. It also plans to expand the diesel hydrotreater at Woods Cross.

The company expects the expansion, estimated to cost $225 million, to be complete in late 2004.

It has signed a 10-year agreement with Newfield Exploration for the supply of 20,000 b/d of black and yellow wax crude oil from the Uinta basin, beginning when the refinery expansion is complete.

At that time, the refinery will be able to process about 24,000 b/d of waxy Utah crudes.