Expansion plans: ConocoPhillips bringing more jobs, less pollution

ROXANA, Jun 25, 2009 (Belleville News-Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- COP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- On a day when Madison County was exposed for its poor air quality, a refinery in the county promoted the economic impact of its $3.6 billion expansion project, which will mean reduced emissions, officials said.

Hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue are expected to come from the huge expansion project under way at the ConocoPhillips Wood River Refinery in Roxana, which began in November.

The Environmental Protection Agency revealed Tuesday that areas in Madison County and Los Angeles had the highest cancer risks in the nation, according to pollution records from 2002.

ConocoPhillips' Government and Community Affairs Director Melissa Erker said the new addition will decrease sulfur dioxide emissions by 95 percent from 2005 levels, and nitrogen dioxide levels will drop by 25 percent from 2005 levels. Particulate emissions and volatile organic compound emissions will remain flat, Erker said.

"Our emissions at the refinery have overall decreased," Erker said during a news conference to update the public on the progress of the project. "Even with expansion, those emissions are actually decreasing."

She also said that wet gas scrubbers that were installed and came on line in December produced a big steam plume that helped remove many of the emissions, especially sulfur dioxide. Wet gas scrubbers also are being constructed in the new expansion.

The project also will include a new vacuum unit and a new 300-foot-tall steel coker, which will process 65,000 barrels of heavy crude oil daily. According to calculations from RSN Economic Group, the expansion will increase the refinery's daily crude oil processing capabilities from 306,000 barrels to 360,000 barrels and increase production of clean fuels to 13 million barrels. According to project analyst John Navin, the expansion is expected to make the refinery the sixth largest in the nation.

"The economic impact is huge," said Navin, who also is a faculty member at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Economics. "We're looking at spending over $1 billion in construction, alone."

The project includes a cooperative effort between the metro-east refinery and EnCana Corp. in Calgary, Alberta, to construct a pipeline that will transfer Canadian crude oil to Southern Illinois.

"Basically, what we're doing at the refinery today is expanding our capacity so that we can produce more clean fuels for this region, as well as being able to run Canadian crude," Erker said.

Results from an economic study commissioned by the River Bend Growth Association, the economic development and chamber of commerce representing the 11 communities that comprise the Alton-Wood River areas, revealed that the refinery project would generate $325 million in local income during construction and $48 million in annual ongoing income. About 4,000 jobs will be available during construction, which began in November and is expected to wrap up by early 2011, and 500 long-term jobs in the community. Once in operation, the expanded refinery's economic impact is projected to be $1.9 billion a year.

"That's the biggest thing that we have going in the River Bend region," said River Bend Growth Association President Monica Bristow. "It's big. It's important to us."

During construction, thousands of workers who are expected to come to the region to build the addition are projected to spend $21 million in the area.

"And those are the people who are spending money in our stores, in our restaurants, looking for places to get medical care as well," Bristow said.

Erker said that about 2,000 contract construction workers are on site now, and that number will continue to grow throughout the summer. She said that number is expected to reach 3,800 by the fall.

Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 239-2526.

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