Trainer Refinery

This article refers to an oil refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania, owned by Monroe Energy, LLC.

HISTORY

Trainer Refinery

Location of the Trainer Refinery
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania}
City	Trainer
Coordinates	39°49′20″N 75°24′16″W / 39.82222°N 75.40444°W / 39.82222; -75.40444Coordinates: 39°49′20″N 75°24′16″W / 39.82222°N 75.40444°W / 39.82222; -75.40444
Refinery details
Operator	Monroe Energy, LLC
Owner(s)	Delta Air Lines
Capacity	185,000 bbl/d (29,400 m3/d)

In 1891, the Union Petroleum Company leased 17 acres in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, from the Reading Company. The first plant, constructed primarily of wood, burned down in 1912.^[1] Union Petroleum Company was bought-out by Sinclair Oil Corporation,^[2] who purchased the original lease and an additional 242 acres of land adjacent to Trainer, Pennsylvania.^[3] On March 17, 1925, Sinclair Oil opened their new $7 million state-of-the-art facility with a projected gasoline production of 6,000 gallons per day (approximately 22,712 liters).^[4]

In the late 1940s, Sinclair went through a number of expansions, notably the installation of a fluid catalytic cracking unit. In 1955, they installed two new crude stills. According to the 1955 Sinclair Oil Annual Report, these expansions gave the plant an estimated crude processing capacity of 120,000 BPD (Barrels per Day).^[5] ARCO acquired the company in 1969^[6] and, shortly thereafter, sold the to BP, who then transferred the formal ownership to SOHIO.^[7] These transactions were a part of deals for the Alaskan Pipeline. The refinery then underwent a modernization expansion at an estimated cost of $200 million.^[8] BP took total ownership of the refinery after absorbing SOHIO in 1987.^[9]

In 1996, BP sold several refining assets (including Marcus Hook) to Tosco Corporation, who shuttered the refinery after negotiations broke down with union employees.^[10] In 1997, Tosco reopened the facility as the Trainer Refinery^[11] operating officially as part of Bayway Refining Company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Tosco. In 2001, the refinery became Phillips Petroleum Company after their acquisition of Tosco. In 2002, Conoco merged with Phillips to become ConocoPhillips. The plant shut down in late September 2011, due to low profit margin."^[12] In 2012, downstream assets of ConocoPhillips were spun off to the newly formed Phillips 66.

In April 2012, it sold the refinery to Monroe Energy, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.^[13] Delta stated that it considered the purchase of the refinery an "innovate approach" towards managing their fuel expenses.^[14] The refinery restarted in September 2012 producing 185,000 BPD.^[15] Delta spent around $100 million to transition 40% of production to jet fuel for its commercial fleet. Under the leadership of Delta CEO Richard Anderson, the Trainer Refinery committed to procuring more oil from domestic companies. In July 2014, it announced a 5-year deal with Texas logistics firm, Bridger L.L.C., to supply 65,000 barrels of domestic crude a day, or about one-third of the crude oil refined at Trainer.^[16]

References