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Chevron Richmond Refinery
The Chevron Richmond Refinery is a 2,900-acre (1,200 ha) petroleum refinery in Richmond, California, on San Francisco Bay. It is owned and operated by Chevron Corporation and employs more than 1,200 workers, making it the city's largest employer. The refinery processes approximately 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil a day in the manufacture of petroleum products and other chemicals. The refinery's primary products are motor gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and lubricants.
The refinery was established several years before the City of Richmond was incorporated in 1905. Construction on the refinery began in 1901 between the Potrero Hills and the marshlands in the Point Richmond District; the refinery was opened in 1902. The refinery was built by Standard Oil and its first headquarters was in an abandoned farm house at the former site of the Peters and Silva Farms. The complex was described as "colossal" at the time and to this day it remains a very large complex of its kind. In its first year of operation the plant could process 10,000 barrels (1,600 m3) of oil per day and had a tankage capacity of 185,000 barrels (29,400 m3) in that same first year. William Rheem played a key role in the facility's construction and implementation, being the project manager and the installation's first superintendent. Rheem continued on to be a key and historic civic figure in the City of Richmond. The presence of the burgeoning refinery transformed the small town of Richmond from a rural agricultural community with 200 residents to a company town of several thousand within a few years.
Crude oil is delivered by, and refined products distributed by, oil tankers using a long wharf extending into San Francisco Bay. Pipe lines connect the wharf to the refinery; and a parallel 42-inch (1.1 m) narrow gauge electric railway was built to transport packaged goods, shipboard supplies and personnel. The refinery shops built six power cars and three unpowered trailers for use under 2.25 miles (3.62 km) of overhead line. Trolley operation began in 1905 serving a shipside hotel, ship chandlery, shook factory, barrel works, and some refinery administration offices. The trolley line was replaced by trucks and buses in 1948.
The number of passenger cars in the United States rose from 1.6 million to 5.6 million from 1914 to 1918. Motor trucks, farm tractors, and aircraft all increased at a comparable rate. As a result, the demand for gasoline, lubricants and other petroleum products intensified. The Richmond refinery was in an excellent position with its plentiful crude oil, state-of-art equipment and prime location to capitalize on the increased demand for petroleum products on the West Coast. By 1915, the refinery spread across 435 acres (176 ha), employed 1,700 workers, and had a capacity of 60,000 barrels (9,500 m3) a day. Not only did the refinery produce transportation fuels, it also had a grease plant, an asphaltum plant, a can factory, a barrel works, a machine shop and a tank car repair shop.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the Richmond refinery became a critical producer of fuel for trucks, tankers, trains, and planes in the war effort. Historian Gerald White reported that the "high quality of the medicinal white oil developed at Richmond to take the place of Russian white oil, cut off by the war, caused an executive of E.R. Squibb & Sons to comment that the Richmond product was 'superior to the best oil' ever imported."
At the end of the war the company shifted its focus back to basic product research and in 1919 constructed a well-equipped red brick laboratory building that still stands today. Development manager Ralph A. Halloran's emphasis on centralized, systematic research helped the department gain greater prestige in support of the company's tenet, "Research First - Then Advertising," which ensured that a product was thoroughly tested before being introduced to the public. By 1924, the laboratory's staff grew to 75 skilled employees, who engaged in tests and experiments, not only to develop new uses for petroleum, but to improve existing processes. In 1938 the refinery constructed a new Hydro Plant for the production of synthetic aviation gasoline. It was the first in the Western United States to produce synthetic gasoline by combining purified hydrogen gas with an unsaturated gas by-product from gasoline cracking operations.
With the onset of World War II the refinery saw major changes. Many employees left for service in the U.S. military and close to 400 women joined the refinery workforce. The refinery shifted production to high-octane fuel and other products to meet military needs. In 1943 a toluene plant was constructed to supply the key ingredient for TNT and later, at the request of the U.S. military, was converted to production of 100-octane gasoline. The U.S. Secretaries of War and Navy and the Petroleum Administrator commended the refinery for exceeding the production of aviation gasoline requested by the government. In 1945, the Richmond refinery won its fifth U.S. Army-Navy "E" award for its support of the military effort.
Following the end of World War II, the refinery began a long-range modernization and expansion of its facilities to accommodate the new post-war consumer demands for petroleum products. The refinery constructed units that increased production of highly refined products for the postwar generation of higher-compression engines. In 1951, a 50,000-barrel (7,900 m3) residuum stripper was constructed to convert heavy residual fuel oil into lighter products. In 1959, the company made a major breakthrough when it developed the Isocracking process which uses catalysts to rearrange the existing molecules of heavy fuel oils to remove sulfur and convert low-value fuel oils into higher-yield products such as gasoline.
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Chevron Richmond Refinery
The Chevron Richmond Refinery is a 2,900-acre (1,200 ha) petroleum refinery in Richmond, California, on San Francisco Bay. It is owned and operated by Chevron Corporation and employs more than 1,200 workers, making it the city's largest employer. The refinery processes approximately 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil a day in the manufacture of petroleum products and other chemicals. The refinery's primary products are motor gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and lubricants.
The refinery was established several years before the City of Richmond was incorporated in 1905. Construction on the refinery began in 1901 between the Potrero Hills and the marshlands in the Point Richmond District; the refinery was opened in 1902. The refinery was built by Standard Oil and its first headquarters was in an abandoned farm house at the former site of the Peters and Silva Farms. The complex was described as "colossal" at the time and to this day it remains a very large complex of its kind. In its first year of operation the plant could process 10,000 barrels (1,600 m3) of oil per day and had a tankage capacity of 185,000 barrels (29,400 m3) in that same first year. William Rheem played a key role in the facility's construction and implementation, being the project manager and the installation's first superintendent. Rheem continued on to be a key and historic civic figure in the City of Richmond. The presence of the burgeoning refinery transformed the small town of Richmond from a rural agricultural community with 200 residents to a company town of several thousand within a few years.
Crude oil is delivered by, and refined products distributed by, oil tankers using a long wharf extending into San Francisco Bay. Pipe lines connect the wharf to the refinery; and a parallel 42-inch (1.1 m) narrow gauge electric railway was built to transport packaged goods, shipboard supplies and personnel. The refinery shops built six power cars and three unpowered trailers for use under 2.25 miles (3.62 km) of overhead line. Trolley operation began in 1905 serving a shipside hotel, ship chandlery, shook factory, barrel works, and some refinery administration offices. The trolley line was replaced by trucks and buses in 1948.
The number of passenger cars in the United States rose from 1.6 million to 5.6 million from 1914 to 1918. Motor trucks, farm tractors, and aircraft all increased at a comparable rate. As a result, the demand for gasoline, lubricants and other petroleum products intensified. The Richmond refinery was in an excellent position with its plentiful crude oil, state-of-art equipment and prime location to capitalize on the increased demand for petroleum products on the West Coast. By 1915, the refinery spread across 435 acres (176 ha), employed 1,700 workers, and had a capacity of 60,000 barrels (9,500 m3) a day. Not only did the refinery produce transportation fuels, it also had a grease plant, an asphaltum plant, a can factory, a barrel works, a machine shop and a tank car repair shop.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the Richmond refinery became a critical producer of fuel for trucks, tankers, trains, and planes in the war effort. Historian Gerald White reported that the "high quality of the medicinal white oil developed at Richmond to take the place of Russian white oil, cut off by the war, caused an executive of E.R. Squibb & Sons to comment that the Richmond product was 'superior to the best oil' ever imported."
At the end of the war the company shifted its focus back to basic product research and in 1919 constructed a well-equipped red brick laboratory building that still stands today. Development manager Ralph A. Halloran's emphasis on centralized, systematic research helped the department gain greater prestige in support of the company's tenet, "Research First - Then Advertising," which ensured that a product was thoroughly tested before being introduced to the public. By 1924, the laboratory's staff grew to 75 skilled employees, who engaged in tests and experiments, not only to develop new uses for petroleum, but to improve existing processes. In 1938 the refinery constructed a new Hydro Plant for the production of synthetic aviation gasoline. It was the first in the Western United States to produce synthetic gasoline by combining purified hydrogen gas with an unsaturated gas by-product from gasoline cracking operations.
With the onset of World War II the refinery saw major changes. Many employees left for service in the U.S. military and close to 400 women joined the refinery workforce. The refinery shifted production to high-octane fuel and other products to meet military needs. In 1943 a toluene plant was constructed to supply the key ingredient for TNT and later, at the request of the U.S. military, was converted to production of 100-octane gasoline. The U.S. Secretaries of War and Navy and the Petroleum Administrator commended the refinery for exceeding the production of aviation gasoline requested by the government. In 1945, the Richmond refinery won its fifth U.S. Army-Navy "E" award for its support of the military effort.
Following the end of World War II, the refinery began a long-range modernization and expansion of its facilities to accommodate the new post-war consumer demands for petroleum products. The refinery constructed units that increased production of highly refined products for the postwar generation of higher-compression engines. In 1951, a 50,000-barrel (7,900 m3) residuum stripper was constructed to convert heavy residual fuel oil into lighter products. In 1959, the company made a major breakthrough when it developed the Isocracking process which uses catalysts to rearrange the existing molecules of heavy fuel oils to remove sulfur and convert low-value fuel oils into higher-yield products such as gasoline.