On March 9th Holly Refining and Marketing hosted a plant tour at their facility in North Salt Lake where there were about 30 people from 20 different companies in attendance. Lynn Keddington, the plant manager at Holly, started by welcoming the group and gave some background about the company, their history, and what kind of a role they play in the community before we were enrolled in “Refining 101”.
During the presentation the group was taught the basics. For instance, the difference between ‘sweet’ crude and ‘sour’ crude, where they come from, and how are they processed differently. They explained the several processes the crude oil must pass through in order to make any number of different products ranging from jet fuel, gasoline and diesel to grease and asphalt. They also took a few minutes to explain how they move their product via tankers and pipelines to satisfy the demand.
They were able to offer explanations as to why Utah fuel prices do not necessarily reflect the national average and why the mixture of diesel fuel in Utah is different than the mixture someone would buy in California this time of year.
When all the explanations were done the group was taken through the plant in a luxury motor coach so that we could see the actual plant. During our time at the Holly refinery we never once saw their product, which is a good thing because as they explained from the very beginning if we see their product it means something has gone wrong.
On behalf of UMA and those that were able to attend the tour at Holly Refining we would like to thank Lynn Keddington and his team for a fascinating tour.
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