57-year-old Pine Bend Refinery could get $400M upgrade
by Annie Baxter, Minnesota Public RadioST. PAUL, Minn. — Flint Hills Resources has revealed plans for a $400 million upgrade of its 57-year-old Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount.
The project will boost the number of construction workers engaged at the facility, said company spokesman Jake Reint. There are currently about 500 workers there daily.
"This project, over the next five years will likely increase that total to more than 1,000 workers on site any given day," Reint said.
Approval of the project is required from the state Pollution Control Agency and final authorization from Flint Hills' management.
The refinery's full-time workforce will not change as a result of the upgrade, Reint said.
He notes that the efficiency improvements would allow the refinery to boost its processing capacity from the current level of about 280,000 barrels of crude oil per day closer to its permitted capacity of 320,000 barrels a day.
The project is scheduled to get underway in 2014.
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Annie Baxter
• ReporterAnnie Baxter started her radio trajectory answering the phones at a pledge drive at KQED, San Francisco's NPR member station, and managed to wriggle her way into an internship soon thereafter.
