BP delays startup of Ind. oil refinery expansion

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WHITING, Ind. — BP has delayed the startup of part of its $3.8 billion Whiting oil refinery expansion until mid-2013, citing the northwestern Indiana project’s “many variables.”

The upgrade of the refinery along Lake Michigan will equip the complex to become a top processor of high-sulfur crude taken from Canadian tar sands. The project, designed to deal with the higher level of impurities found in that crude, was expected to be completed and operating by late 2012.

BP spokesman Brad Etlin said some components of the modernization at the complex about 20 miles southeast of Chicago will begin operating on the earlier schedule. But he said the startup of the project’s new gas oil hydrotreater and petroleum coker will be delayed until mid-2013.

The hydrotreater will remove more sulfur and nitrogen from gas oil, while the petroleum coker is expected to increase production of coke and naphtha, a highly flammable chemical used to make finished petroleum products.

AP