buildings, crude oil and products storage, buffer area, and reserve land 

 for future expansion. The processing units are usually tightly clustered, 

 although some less utilized units may be situated in other areas of the 

 refinery complex. 



Because of the potentially hazardous nature of a refinery (fire, 



explosion, noxious gas) the site requires a geologically stable area. 



Good soil bearing properties are required to support the heavy processing 

 structures and storage tanks. 



A refinery site must have good transportation available, by water or 

 land, or both where possible. Refineries usually have been located along 

 navigable waterways, where they may have marine terminals and loading/ 

 unloading facilities. A waterfront site is not necessary to receive crude 

 oil, since it can easily be offloaded from tankers at a marine terminal and 

 piped to the refinery (see discussion of marine terminals. Section 3.2). 

 However, because refineries use enormous amounts of water for both process 

 needs and cooling, a waterfront site can offer a considerable economic 

 advantage. 



Water supply needs vary according to the size of the refinery, types 

 of products manufactured, processing and cooling system technology, and 

 water quality. In newer refineries, fresh water needs are often 

 supplemented by use of brackish water in cooling systems and, to an extent, 

 by air cooling systems. Because of capital costs and high energy usage, 

 air cooling systems are not expected to totally replace the combinations 

 of water and air cooling now in use. 



In addition to electric power, refineries use varying amounts of 



fossil fuel, either oil products refined from crude in the refinery or 



natural gas removed from the crude stream or piped in from a gas producing 

 field. 



3.7.3 Potential Sources of Disturbance 



Oil refineries may have a number of major adverse effects on fish and 

 wildlife and their habitats, resulting from their large freshwater 

 demand; appreciable discharges of polluted wastewater; large amounts of 

 solid waste; and site preparation activities during construction. 

 Disturbances and adverse effects may also result from road construction, 

 storm runoff, and electric power needs. 



In addition to the refinery, related facilities can cause problems. 

 For example, a refinery usually requires a pipeline connection to a marine 

 terminal or an offshore field, necessitating a pipeline corridor at least 

 150 feet wide. Navigational improvements may be needed to accommodate 

 deep draft tankers. In some instances the crude stream will have passed 

 through a partial processing facility (Section 3.2) prior to arrival at 

 a refinery where oil and gas are separated from the water which then must 

 be disposed of. 



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