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Bayway Refinery is a refining facility in the
Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the system of navigable wate ...
, owned by
Phillips 66 The Phillips 66 Company is an American multinational energy company headquartered in Westchase, Houston, Texas. Its name, dating back to 1927 as a trademark of the Phillips Petroleum Company, helped ground the newly reconfigured Phillips 66. T ...
. Located in Linden and
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
, and bisected by Morses Creek, it is the northernmost refinery on the East Coast of the United States. The
oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liq ...
converts
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
(supplied by tanker ships from the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
and
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...
and by rail from the
Bakken Formation The Bakken Formation () is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The formation was init ...
in North Dakota) into
gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...
,
diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and ...
,
jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...
,
propane Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as ...
and
heating oil Heating oil is any petroleum product or other oil used for heating; a fuel oil. Most commonly, it refers to low viscosity grades of fuel oil used for furnaces or boilers use for home heating and in other buildings. Home heating oil is often ...
. As of 2007, the facility processed approximately of crude oil, producing of gasoline and of distillates. Its products are delivered to East Coast customers via
pipeline transport Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas through a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes—a pipeline—typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than ...
,
barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...
s,
railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a dri ...
s and
tank truck A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, or tanker truck (American English) or tanker (British English) is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquids or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars, which are also d ...
s. The facility also houses a
petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewabl ...
plant which produces lubricants and additives and a
polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins a ...
plant that produces over 775 million pounds of polypropylene per year. The refinery has its own railway container terminal and heliport. The workers at the plant have been unionized under the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Local No. 877) since 1960. The refinery has had and continues to have environmental issues, culminating in the major $225 million Exxon Mobil-New Jersey Environmental Contamination settlement. A 2010 investigative report conducted by
WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neig ...
, the ABC flagship station in New York City, characterizes the Bayway Refinery as a "repeat offender" of environmental regulations.


History

In 1907,
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...
founder John D. Rockefeller acquired several hundred acres of the former Morse family estate between Linden and
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
as the site for his latest refinery. Construction of temporary office buildings began on October 15, 1907 and work clearing the heavily wooded land began immediately. The cornerstone of the machine shop, the first permanent structure at the site, was laid on January 18, 1908, and construction continued throughout the year. The first crude stills at Bayway were completed in late 1908 and on January 2, 1909, they were symbolically fired up by William C. Koehler (c1880-1953). The facility began processing an initial of crude oil per day. Capacity was expanded to an estimated by 1911. Over the next several years the plant continued expanding and increasing capacity and workforce. In 1911, Standard Oil was broken up into smaller units in accordance with the
Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. ...
. One of these successor companies was Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, the precursor to Esso and later Exxon, which retained the ownership of the Bayway facilities. Bayway became a leading research facility within the S.O. New Jersey enterprise. It was the first facility in the United States to employ the use of
hydrogenation Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic ...
process to get greater yields from its crude products, and in 1919 scientists at Bayway created the world's first
petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewabl ...
:
isopropyl alcohol Isopropyl alcohol (IUPAC name propan-2-ol and also called isopropanol or 2-propanol) is a colorless, flammable organic compound with a pungent alcoholic odor. As an isopropyl group linked to a hydroxyl group ( chemical formula ) it is the s ...
. The Ethyl Corporation, a joint venture of
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
and
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...
, built a plant for the manufacture of tetraethyl lead (TEL, the "lead" in
leaded gasoline Tetraethyllead (commonly styled tetraethyl lead), abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula Pb( C2H5)4. It is a fuel additive, first being mixed with gasoline beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster tha ...
) at the refinery over the course of three months in 1924. Within the first two months of its operation, the facility had seventeen cases of severe lead poisoning leading to hallucinations and insanity, and then five deaths in quick succession. The plant was shut down by the state of New Jersey in October, and Standard Oil was forbidden to manufacture TEL there again without state permission.Kovarik, Bill.
Charles F. Kettering and the 1921 Discovery of Tetraethyl Lead In the Context of Technological Alternatives
", presented to the ''Society of Automotive Engineers Fuels & Lubricants Conference'', Baltimore, Maryland., 1994; revised in 1999.
During World War II, the plant constructed its first catalytic cracker, or "cat cracker", which went into operation on January 18, 1943. This development proved essential to the production of fuel to support the Allied war effort, especially high-octane aviation fuel, and also allowed the production of synthetic
butyl rubber Butyl rubber, sometimes just called "butyl", is a synthetic rubber, a copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. The abbreviation IIR stands for isobutylene isoprene rubber. Polyisobutylene, also known as "PIB" or polyisobutene, (C4H8)n, is the ...
and materials used to manufacture explosives. After the war, the use of coal for heating declined sharply in the United States. In 1947, Esso invested $26 million in a refinery expansion program to meet an increased post-war demand for gasoline and heating oil, and constructed a second, much larger catalytic cracker with an initial processing capacity of , replacing the original 1943 unit. The "Cat" came online in October 1949 and was the largest in the world during the twentieth century, and as of 2008 was the largest in the western hemisphere. In 1965 Enjay Chemical, a subsidiary of the Esso Chemical Company (which later became Exxon Chemical) in the Standard Oil Company New Jersey (known publicly mostly by the Esso, Enco and Humble brands) assumed all of the chemical processing assets and products at Bayway. In 1973, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey was renamed Exxon, and the facility likewise became known as the ''Exxon Bayway Refinery''. On the night of December 5, 1970 a series of powerful explosions occurred at the refinery, resulting in multiple injuries but no fatalities in and around the plant. Windows were shattered as far away as
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...
, and the explosion was felt more than thirty miles away. 1976 brought about the installation of the most iconic structure at the refinery, the Wet Gas Scrubber. Visible from the New Jersey Turnpike with its giant plumes of water vapor, this device eliminates 7-8 tons of dust per day as well as gases generated from the catalytic cracking process. To this day it is recognized as one of the most efficient and effective units of its kind in the world. On the night of January 1–2, 1990, a cracked underwater pipeline leaked about of fuel oil into the Arthur Kill. Because the waterway was already so heavily industrialized, Exxon argued that it should not have to pay any damages. The court disagreed, ordering the company to pay $15 million in reparations. On April 8, 1993, the
Tosco Corporation Tosco (The Oil Shale COrporation) was an independent US based petroleum refining and marketing corporation based in Stamford, Connecticut. It was founded in 1955 in Santa Monica, California by A&P heir Huntington Hartford, and originally foc ...
finalized proceedings to purchase the refinery from Exxon for a sum of $175 million, although the Exxon Chemical Company continued to run the Chemical Plant. During this time Bayway was operated by Bayway Refining Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tosco Corporation. Under the direction of Tosco, Bayway was able to reorganize and upgrade the facility, and years of operating at a loss for Exxon in the later 1980s were turned around swiftly. The Morristown and Erie Railway became the contract switcher for the refinery in 1995, and set up the Bayshore Terminal Company to handle the management of 8,000 railroad cars full of various refinery products each year. In 1999, the Infineum company (a joint project of Exxon Chemical, Shell International Chemicals and Shell Chemical) took over operation of the chemical plant. Infineum researches and produces crankcase lubricant additives,
fuel additive Petrol additives increase petrol's octane rating or act as corrosion inhibitors or lubricants, thus allowing the use of higher compression ratios for greater efficiency and power. Types of additives include metal deactivators, corrosion inhib ...
s, and specialty lubricant additives, as well as
automatic transmission fluid Automatic transmission fluid (ATF) is a type of hydraulic fluid used in vehicles with automatic transmissions. It is typically coloured red or green to distinguish it from motor oil and other fluids in the vehicle. The fluid is optimized for th ...
s, gear oils, and industrial oils.Bayway Refinery
", ''Bayshore Terminal Company''.
Tosco was bought in 2001 by Phillips Petroleum, which merged with
Conoco Conoco Inc. ( ) was an American oil and gas company that operated from 1875 until 2002, when it merged with Phillips Petroleum to form ConocoPhillips. Founded by Isaac Elder Blake in 1875 as the "Continental Oil and Transportation Company". Curr ...
to form ConocoPhillips in 2002 and later spun off downstream, midstream and chemical assets into a new Phillips 66 company in 2012. In 2003 a new
polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins a ...
facility went online that produces 775 million pounds per year.


Environmental issues

The refinery was the famous toxic site in question in the 2015 legal settlement between New Jersey and ExxonMobil. In late 2003, the refinery came under scrutiny for a possibly abnormal
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
rate among its work population. As a result, local ABC affiliate
WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neig ...
(Channel 7), New York, ran a feature about the refinery. The refinery has since been subject to scrutiny by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agen ...
(OSHA). The refinery has consistently been ranked among the worst polluters in the nation, and has been cited almost 200 times since 2005 for violation of state environmental laws. It is also ranked as the 32nd worst water polluter in the country.


2005 environmental control measures

Thanks to the terms of a settlement with the Department of Environmental Protection,
ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas. The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...
stated that it would take the following actions at their Bayway facilities: * Install a cover on the wastewater separator or a new covered separator, and controls, by December 2008. This measure, which would cost approximately $8 million, would reduce emissions of
volatile organic compound Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapour pressure at room temperature. High vapor pressure correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a ...
s, (VOCs) at the treatment unit by 95 percent. * Install a new fuel gas system by December 2010 to burn cleaner natural gas instead of fuel oil, reducing SO2 emissions by thousands of tons per year. This would cost $28 million to $38 million. * Install new pollution controls on heaters and boilers by December 2010 at cost of $20 million, reducing annual NOx emissions by approximately 900 tons. * Reduce emissions of VOCs by implementing an enhanced leak detection and repair program. * Reduce VOC and acid gas emissions by minimizing flaring. * Audit and reduce benzene emissions.


See also

* Big Inch *
List of oil refineries This is a list of oil refineries. '' Oil & Gas Journal'' publishes a worldwide list of refineries annually in a country-by-country tabulation that includes for each refinery: location, crude oil daily processing capacity, and the size of each proce ...
*
Perth Amboy Refinery The Perth Amboy Refinery is a refinery built in 1920. It is between Convery Boulevard and State Street in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, adjacent to the Outerbridge Crossing. Via rail it is served by Conrail's Chemical Coast and the former Perth Ambo ...
*
Port Reading Refinery Port Reading Refinery, also known as Hess Refinery''(photo) was an oil refinery located in Perth Amboy and Port Reading, New Jersey. It was constructed by Hess Oil under Leon Hess in 1958. It is a simple refinery which further processes other re ...
* Morses Creek *The
Chemical Coast The Chemical Coast is a section of Union and Middlesex counties in New Jersey located along the shores of the Arthur Kill, across from Staten Island, New York. The name is taken from the Conrail Chemical Coast Line, an important component in th ...


References


Further reading

*http://conocophillips.com *Hidy, R W., and M E. Hidy. ''History of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey); Pioneering in Big Business 1882 - 1911''. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1955. *Gibb, G S., and E H. Knowlton. ''History of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey): the Resurgent Years 1911 - 1927''. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956. *Larson, H M., E H. Knowlton, and C S. Popple. ''History of Standard Oil (New Jersey): New Horizons 1927-1950''. New York: Harper and Row, 1971.


External links


state.nj.us January 27, 2005
"ConocoPhillips to Spend $60 Million to Reduce Pollution at Bayway Refinery" *
The Center for Public Land Use: Bayway RefineryPhillips 66 website
*https://www3.epa.gov/region02/waste/exxon750.pdf {{Phillips 66 Phillips 66 Buildings and structures in Elizabeth, New Jersey Buildings and structures in Union County, New Jersey Energy infrastructure completed in 1909 Energy infrastructure in New Jersey Linden, New Jersey Oil refineries in the United States Port of New York and New Jersey 1909 establishments in New Jersey