Ashland Oil Inc. will start construction on seven projects at its Catlettsburg, Ky., refinery this year that will cost about $222 million and enable it to produce cleaner diesel fuel and further reduce plant emissions.
Planned for the 213,400 b/d plant are:
- A 40,000 b/d distillate desulfurizer, $68 million.
- A 16,500 b/d continuous catalyst regenerator (CCR), $66 million.
- Benzene reduction equipment, $40 million.
- Five distillate storage tanks, $17 million.
- Landfill upgrades, $15 million.
- Fluid catalytic cracking electrostatic precipitators, $13 million.
- An air assisted flare, $3 million.
Construction of the CCR, distillate desulfurizer, and storage tanks will allow Ashland to produce low sulfur diesel fuel. Effective in October 1993 the Environmental Protection Agency will require U.S. refiners to produce diesel fuel limited to 0.05 wt % sulfur. Today's diesel fuel can have 0.5 wt % sulfur.
The remaining projects will further reduce refinery emissions and upgrade landfill operations. All will be completed in 1993.
Ashland expects to spend about $274 million on projects at the Catlettsburg refinery during 1993-95, mainly to meet new environmental requirements. It spent about $266 million on new operations, equipment upgrades, and environmental projects at the refinery in 1989-91.
In addition, Ashland expects to spend about $87 million on seven projects to be started this year at its 67,100 b/d St. Paul Park, Minn., and 66,000 b/d Canton, Ohio, refineries. The projects mainly involve construction of units to enable the St. Paul Park refinery to produce low sulfur diesel fuel and equipment to further reduce emissions at both plants.
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