BP lets contract for Washington refinery

BP PLC has let a contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. for work related to coker units at its 234,000-b/d Cherry Point refinery in Blaine, Wash.

Jacobs will provide engineering, design, and procurement services for a coker heater replacement project at the refinery, the company said.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

The coker heater replacement project at Cherry Point involves the proposed replacement of the refinery’s two existing coker heaters, which were installed in 1970 as part of the original plant, according to a description submitted to Metro Vancouver, a governing body designated by provincial legislation to oversee and administer resources and services, including regional planning and air quality, for the Metro Vancouver district in British Columbia.

As of April, preliminary estimates indicated the proposed project—which, at the time, still was in a pre-application stage—would result in increased emissions of air contaminants annually, including 300 tonnes/year of nitrogen oxides, 200 tpy of sulfur dioxide, 25 tpy of fine particulate matter, and 300,000 tpy of greenhouse gases.

Following the pre-application stage, the project was next due to undergo a permitting process that included an evaluation of compliance with US ambient air quality standards, according to Metro Vancouver.

Information regarding the project’s evaluation under US air quality standards has not yet been made publicly available.