Plant Services names its Plant of the Year

Situated on more than 3,000 acres adjacent to the Mississippi Sound on the southeast coast, Chevron’s refinery in Pascagoula, Miss., regularly faces the risk and reality of hurricanes. Last summer, the refinery came face-to-face with one of the costliest and deadliest storms on record – Hurricane Katrina.

The overwhelming majority of stories during and after Katrina focused on what was wrong with preparation or response, or on the extraordinary experiences and outpouring of assistance from millions of people both in and outside the affected region.

Pascagoula Refinery’s story is different. Here, well-rehearsed preparations, solid infrastructure planning and competent personnel worked together, not only to save the refinery from major repercussions, but to help employees, the surrounding community, regional governments and emergency responders, and the rest of the nation ride out the storm and its aftermath.

Indeed, the refinery’s survival and rebound from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina appears routine. The facility’s path to recovery, lessons learned, and sustained commitment to its employees, the local community and the oil-buying public serve as a model for any organization facing emergency conditions. Plant Services is proud to honor Chevron’s Pascagoula Refinery as our 2006 Survivor USA Plant of the Year.

Chevron’s biggest refinery

Chevron’s Pascagoula Refinery began operations in 1963. During the years, it has grown to become the corporation's largest and most complex refinery, and one of the top 10 petroleum refineries in the United States. Pascagoula Refinery processes more than 100 million barrels of crude oil a year with virtually non-stop operation. Before the storm, on a daily basis, it processed 330,000 barrels (13.9 million gallons) of crude oil and produced 5 million gallons of gasoline.

The refinery is strategically located in Mississippi’s Jackson County on the Gulf of Mexico, adjacent to the Port of Pascagoula, two interstate highways, a railroad, and two major oil pipeline systems. Its crude oil arrives by marine tankers, primarily from Central and South America, and is discharged into storage tanks before refining. The five-step refining process includes distillation, treating, cracking, reforming and blending. Finished petroleum products and chemicals are distributed via ship, pipeline, truck and rail. Regional distribution centers supply the products to consumer and industrial customers throughout the South.

Pascagoula Refinery's finished products fuel the nation’s economy. Primary products are gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel, as well as fuel oils, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), aviation gasoline, petroleum coke and sulfur. The refinery also manufactures chemicals used as feedstock in the textile and plastics industries, and to manufacture products including automobile tires, sporting goods, nylon and pharmaceuticals.

The refinery is the county’s largest taxpayer, and in normal operations employs 1,200 people plus 400 to 1,500 contractors. Accordingly, in the event of an emergency, Chevron’s immediate priorities include employee care and safety, community relief and minimizing environmental damage, followed by full restoration of critical operations.

Emergency readiness

The Atlantic hurricane season lasts six months, making hurricane preparedness plans in this region as commonplace as earthquake kits in California. Because so many hurricanes pass through or develop over the Gulf of Mexico, companies up and down the Gulf Coast take disaster planning very seriously. The size, intensity and paths of hurricanes fluctuate, so each storm is carefully and constantly tracked to evaluate its ultimate risk.

The Pascagoula Refinery is no stranger to hurricane-related damage. The plant flooded in 1969 under Hurricane Camille and again in 1998 under Hurricane Georges. The destruction Georges caused was so severe that it took three months to return to normal production levels. Afterward, to help prevent such an occurrence from happening again, a five-mile-long dike was raised around the refinery.

Naturally, emergency preparedness and response are top of mind at the refinery. Chevron carries insurance for both business interruption and property damage. Their process units are routinely monitored to identify vulnerabilities and determine the potential impact. The refinery maintains regular contact with state and local agencies and works with them to conduct large-scale emergency drills.

The plant has 10 medical first responders and 25 nationally certified Emergency Medical Technicians on staff for medical emergencies. An on-site fire department, called the Plant Protection Group, consists of 11 full-time, certified firefighters who conduct regular training for the refinery’s Emergency Response Team (ERT). The ERT includes 80 employee volunteers who undergo 150 hours of specialized training each year to respond effectively to industrial emergency situations.

Furthermore, the refinery has developed multiple emergency response plans. The Incident Command Center (ICC) was established to manage comprehensive responses and maintain communication with all area government agencies. The Public Affairs Team is responsible for providing updates to the media, employees and community.

Hurricane warning

• Thursday, Aug. 25, 2005: Hurricane Katrina crossed over south Florida as a Category 1 storm.
• Friday, Aug. 26, 2005: Hurricane Katrina emerged from Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and tracked toward the Mississippi/Louisiana coast.
• Saturday, Aug. 27, 2005: The hurricane reached Category 3 intensity. Parts of Louisiana were asked to evacuate, and Louisiana was declared a federal state of emergency.
• Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005: Katrina grew to Category 5 with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, gusting to 215 mph. A federal state of emergency was declared in Mississippi and Alabama. Parts of Mississippi, including Jackson County, began evacuating.