The refinery sector consists of 145 facilities that produce gasoline, gasoline blending stocks, naphtha, kerosene, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, or asphalt (bitumen) by the distillation of petroleum or the redistillation, cracking, or reforming of unfinished petroleum derivatives. GHG process emissions from this sector include emissions from venting, flares, and fugitive leaks from equipment (e.g., valves, flanges, pumps). Besides the emissions from petroleum refining processes, the sector includes combustion emissions from stationary combustion units and flares located at these facilities. Approximately 12% of refineries use continuous emissions monitoring equipment to measure GHG emissions from some of their emission sources. Excluded from this sector are the emissions from industrial production processes not related to petroleum refining that take place at some refineries. For example, process emissions from hydrogen production or petrochemical production are included in the chemical manufacturing sector.

• Location and emissions range for each reporting facility in the refinery sector (as of 4/6/12).

  

  This map shows the locations of direct-emitting facilities. The size of a circle corresponds to the quantity of emissions reported by that facility.

Refineries Sector 2010 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reported to the GHGRP

• Number of facilities: 145
• Total emissions (CO2e): 182.7 million metric tons
• Emissions by category (CO2e):

   

  Combustion sources: Combustion emissions are produced from the combustion of fuel to provide process heat for industrial, commercial, or institutional use, whether the combustion is internal or external to the manufacturing process equipment. Examples are boilers, stationary internal combustion engines, process heaters, kilns, combustion turbines, and waste incinertors.

  Process emission sources: Process emissions are vented, evaporative, or fugitive emission from industrial manufacturing processes and from decomposition processes at landfills and wastewater treatment systems.

  • Combustion: 127.1 million metric tons
  • Process: 55.6 million metric tons

CO2 emissions from the combustion of biomass are NOT included in emissions totals provided above.

Other EPA Resources

• U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report