BP Whiting Refinery Air Permits FAQ

What are some of the details related to the refinery’s draft air permits?

In an effort to increase gasoline and diesel supply by a potential 1.7 million gallons per day to motorists in the Midwest, BP is investing more than $3.8 billion in the expansion of its Whiting, Ind., refinery. Much of the Whiting modernization budget – more than $1.4 billion – is allocated for environmental improvements.

While motor fuel production will increase, total regulated air emissions will decrease through the modernization - benefiting the local environment.  The proposed stricter air permit limits follow a five-year trend of measurable decreases in air emissions from the Whiting Refinery.  Criteria pollutants in 2006 were about 68 percent lower than those in 2001 and these emissions will decrease by an estimated additional seven percent by 2011, once the project is completed.
We believe it is possible to meet U.S. needs for gasoline and diesel fuels and have in place strong environmental protections.  When the BP Whiting Refinery applied for new construction and operations air permits at the end of October, we proposed:

To hold regulated air emissions at the refinery to more stringent limits
To establish individual limits on almost all air emissions sources and equipment including sources that are not currently subject to emission limitations
To account for all expected changes in emissions at the refinery from ongoing upgrades and maintenance through 2011


What changes are you making at the refinery to meet the more stringent requirements in the draft air permits? What does BP plan to do to minimize its air emissions?

To reduce air emissions, we are replacing existing equipment with more modern technology, installing emission controls on new and existing units and integrating some of the emissions reductions from the removal of older, less efficient equipment into the project.  As a result, the modernization project will achieve net decreases in emissions of major criteria pollutants while also producing more motor fuels.     

Among these investments are:

A $510 million investment in technologies that work to remove hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide and sulfur produced throughout the refining process. This allows for cleaner refining processes
The installation of a $624 million system that removes sulfur from gasoline. This leads to cleaner emissions when fuel is used in vehicles
Replacement of existing technology with more modern equipment and installing emission controls on new and existing units

Within emissions categories:

-- Carbon monoxide emissions are being reduced through the investment in new fuel gas-fired heaters using best available control technology and by setting lower emissions limits for the fluid catalytic cracking units.
-- Volatile organic compound emissions are being reduced through investment in a vapor control system for the refinery’s gasoline loading dock and the institution of enhanced fugitive hydrocarbon leak detection and repair program.
-- Sulfur dioxide emissions are being reduced through the installation of new tail gas clean-up facilities at the sulfur recovery complex and additional sulfur removal from refinery fuel gas.  
-- Particulate emissions will be reduced by investing in high-efficiency cooling tower drift eliminators and enclosing the refinery’s coke-handling system.
-- Nitrogen oxide emissions will be lowered by investing in new heaters and retrofitting or replacing existing heaters to reduce NOx created during combustion. Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) equipment will be installed on the coker and hydrogen unit.
-- Mercury emissions are being minimized by permanently shutting down a hazardous waste incinerator at the refinery’s water treatment plant and switching to cleaner-burning fuel gas for heating furnaces and boilers.  


How much will sulfur dioxide emissions increase?

Sulfur dioxide is estimated to show an increase of 20 percent, from 1,073 tons per year in 2006 to 1,284 in 2011.

Why, and what are you doing to minimize those emissions?

Sulfur dioxide emissions are being reduced through the installation of new tail gas clean-up facilities at the sulfur recovery complex and additional sulfur removal from refinery fuel gas.

How much will particulate matter emissions increase?

Particulate matter (PM10) emissions are calculated to increase at most by 21 percent from 544 tons per year in 2006 to 658 tons per year in 2011.

Why, and what are you doing to minimize those emissions?

Particulate emissions will be reduced by investing in high-efficiency cooling tower drift eliminators and enclosing the refinery’s coke-handling system.

Are mercury emissions to the air going up?

At Whiting, emissions of mercury into the air are so small that we’ve only recently identified a method to reliably measure them.  As a result, emissions levels have been calculated using factors published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Based on these calculations, BP expects no increase in mercury air emissions despite the increase in production of Canadian heavy crude oil.

BP has taken several steps to decrease air emissions of mercury from the refinery, including permanently shutting down a hazardous waste incinerator at the refinery’s water treatment plant and switching to cleaner-burning natural gas for heating furnaces and boilers at the refinery.