Holly Corp. to break ground on $150 million Tulsa refinery upgrade

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jun 24, 2009 by Kirby Lee Davis

Holly Corp. will break ground this fall for its $150 million Tulsa refinery upgrade.

Coming to Tulsa Tuesday for the refinery's formal dedication, Holly Chairman and Chief Executive Matthew P. Clifton said contractors will begin work within a few months on the foundation to the diesel desulfurizer units, now on order for delivery in 2011.

This will kick off the 366-employee refinery's two-year transformation to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards and produce low-sulfur diesel fuel.

Clifton said the foundation itself represents a major step since it involves excavation and construction of a thick concrete bed, with deep piers to bedrock, to support not just the heavy desulfurizer units but their extensive piping, cooling towers and other infrastructure to come.

Plant Manager Jim Resinger said Holly has not finalized a contractor for the project.

Dallas-based Holly completed its $65 million purchase of the Sunoco's 85,000-barrel-per-day Tulsa refinery on June 1, less than two months after announcing the deal. Two weeks ago Holly sold $200 million in bonds due 2017 to help finance the transaction.

While the company operates with a $100 million annual budget, Clifton said a large portion of the Tulsa refinery expenses will flow through Tulsa-area vendors. He expects cash flow from the $150 million expansion also will turn over several times through the Tulsa economy.

Clifton projected Holly's annual corporate giving in the Tulsa community could range from $200,000 to $400,000.

Resinger, who moved from Holly's Navajo Refinery in Artesia, N.M., to manage the 800-acre Tulsa facility, said the transition from Sunoco to Holly systems could take another six to eight months.

But the biggest change came with the move from Artesia, population 12,000, to Oklahoma's second-largest market.

"With the housing, shopping, entertainment, it's been a whole new world for my wife," he said.