Flint Hills Resources' West Refinery in Corpus Christi is getting $250 million in upgrades. The improvements will allow the company to process more Eagle Ford crude and reduce emissions. The upgrades wouldn't add capacity, but would allow the company to process more South Texas crude. Flint Hills operates two Corpus Christi refineries. The West Refinery that will be upgraded refines 230,000 barrels of oil per day and the East Refinery refines 70,000 barrels per day. Currently, only 50% of the crude processed in the West Refinery is sourced from the Eagle Ford, but additional processing facilities will allow Flint Hills to maximize the use of local supply. The expansion will not be noticeable to the untrained eye and will add 1,000 jobs at the peak of construction.

“If we receive the final go-ahead and appropriate permits the site will see construction activity for about two years, with as many as 1,000 additional workers on site on many days,” Gaarder added. “However, this project will not require more land nor will new equipment be easily noticed from I-37.” Flint Hills also is establishing a project-specific, near-neighbor panel.

Flint does have to file for permits from both the TCEQ and the EPA before construction can start. Read the full news release at fhr.com