The Billings Phillips 66 refinery, located in Billings, Montana, is undergoing a complete shut down as it ramps up for major maintenance and improvements that include adding a process to enable it to process heavy crude oil.
The turnaround, which occurs every five years and takes almost two months, will bring the total number of employees and contractors on site to about 2,500 people during its peak, Ryan Wegner, the refinery’s finance and public affairs manager, told the Billings Gazette on Wednesday.
The gradual plant shutdown began on April 15, with total shut down by the beginning of May, Wegner said. The refinery will go back online by June.
Included in the refinery overhaul is Phillips 66’s Vacuum Improvement Project, which began in 2015 and included a vacuum tower upgrade, will connect to the plant during the turnaround, Wegner said. A major maintenance item will be to make improvements to the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracker, or FCC.
The refinery currently processes a mixture of Canadian heavy, high-sulfur crude oil plus domestic high-sulfur and low-sulfur crude oils, all delivered by pipeline and trucks. The project will allow the plant to handle up to 100 percent heavy Canadian crude oil, company officials said earlier. The plant has a total capacity of 66,000 b/d and markets its products in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado and Washington.
