Initially a Texaco refinery built in 1910, Sinclair Oil Corp.'s Tulsa Refinery was acquired by its present owner in 1983. The 60,000-b/d facility produces gasoline and diesel and comprises the following process units: alkylation, catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming, desulfurization, isomerization (isopentane/isohexane), and vacuum distillation.

Expansion project

Sinclair broke ground on its latest expansion at the facility on April 25, 2008, after the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality the previous month had approved the company's application to add units to allow the refinery process heavy, sour crude into diesel and gasoline. The refinery's capacity will increase to 115,000 b/d as a result.

During the project, Sinclair will add more than 36,000 b/d of ultra-low sulfur diesel production capacity, bringing the refinery's total diesel production capacity to 56,300 b/d. Gasoline production will go up 22% to nearly 49,000 b/d. In addition, the Tulsa Refinery's emissions will decrease by 1,000 t/y. The company also will add a coker unit that will use an odor control system, along with an enclosed flare system. WorleyParsons and Foster Wheeler are serving as contractors for the project.

The Tulsa Refinery Expansion, set to conclude in 2010, will require 4 million man hours and require up to 2,500 workers. The refinery presently employs approximately 260 workers, and Sinclair could add 200 more at the expanded facility.