Level land is essential because it reduces the amount of earth 

 work involved, reduces the complexity of piping systems, and reduces 

 the pumping requirements within the refinery. 



Refinery sites also require good transportation access. Trans- 

 portation access is even more important during construction than during 

 the operational phase, because thousands of tons of heavy materials such 

 as cement, piping, pumps, and heavy prefabricated steel vessels must be 

 brought in. Access by both barges and railroads is preferred. Access by 

 one of these is absolutely essential. Good road access is also needed 

 to handle the large number of vehicles during construction and the 200- 

 400 workers during the operational phase. 



A refinery site must have access to large quantities of electric 

 power. Purchased electric power provides most of a refinery's power 

 with a per-barrel-use of 2 kilowatt-hours for a simple refinery to more 

 than 9 kilowatt-hours for a complex facility. It is estimated that 

 100,000 kilowatt-hours per day would be used by a 250,000 barrel -per-day 

 refinery [26]. Some refineries may produce their own electric power. 



In the United States, many refineries use natural gas as a refinery 

 fuel rather than using a part of the input oil as fuel. Gas is cleaner, 

 is easier to handle, and requires less expensive equipment. If gas is 

 to be used as fuel, the site will need to be near a gas pipeline. 



Lastly, a refinery is not sited in isolation, but is sited so as to 

 fit into a petroleum producing, transporting, and distribution system. 

 The best site, therefore, is one that fits into the existing petroleum 

 industry infrastructure as well as the infrastructure system that will 

 evolve in the future. 



Construction/Installation 



The construction of a large refinery will require approximately 

 three years [26] during which it will employ approximately 3,000 workers: 

 welders, pipefitters, electricians, equipment operators, and laborers 

 [25]. 



The entire site will probably be cleared of vegetation to allow 

 extensive grading and earthworks operations. Dikes will be built around 

 all storage tanks and in refining areas. Stormwater and process water 

 collection systems will be installed necessitating considerable trenching. 

 Wastewater treatment facilities consisting of aeration and retention 

 ponds will be excavated and diked. Parking lots will be graded. Finally, 

 the refinery site will be landscaped to improve its appearance. 



Construction of the refinery process units, piping, and storage 

 tanks will require a great deal of metal bending, cutting, and welding. 

 After units have been fabricated and connected, they will be sand blasted, 

 cleaned with chemicals, and painted. 



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