Upgraded Salt Lake City terminal strengthens commitment to low-sulfur fuel

Business News

Dec 16, 2024

Terminal Manager Shawn Acerson prepares to cut the ribbon to formally open the expanded waxy crude oil unloading facility next to the Salt Lake City refinery. With Acerson are representatives of the many MPC and MPLX business units that contributed to the project’s completion, including (L-R) David Huckins, Steve Arguello, Levi Bouschard, Wes Grady, Willie Knipp, Luke Miller, Chris Clement, David Bergeson, Todd Griffin, (Acerson), Josh Hancock, Gustavo Gonzales, Evan Bencic, Fernie Hernandez, Jennifer Khoury Rondeno, Jonathan Arguello and Chris Lewe.

Key Points

Upgrades at the transport truck terminal that serves Marathon Petroleum’s Salt Lake City, Utah, refinery have generated benefits for the refinery and the nearby area.
Adding lanes and equipment to the waxy crude oil unloading facility has reduced waiting times for scaling and unloading trucks, decreasing idling emissions and truck traffic on nearby streets.
The project further supports processing waxy crude oil, which has less sulfur than other crude oils, generates lower processing emissions and produces a higher quality of low-sulfur fuel.

An efficiency project involving Marathon Petroleum’s Salt Lake City, Utah, refinery has brought enhancements that extend outside the refinery. Modifications to the waxy crude oil unloading facility (WCUF) at the terminal next to the refinery have reduced the time needed to manage roughly 100 transport trucks a day, decreasing idling emissions and truck traffic on adjacent city streets.

“The facility's two existing lanes have been upgraded along with installing three additional lanes with new skids, meters and pumps to enhance offloading efficiency," Senior Business Development Advisor Jennifer Rondeno said. "Now, drivers have much shorter lines."

BEFORE: A look at the truck staging area of the waxy crude oil unloading facility (WCUF) before the project began.

At the WCUF, waxy crude oil is transferred via pipes to refinery tankage after being delivered from the Uinta Basin in eastern Utah. The Salt Lake City refinery has been specially equipped to process this type of crude oil, which is higher in paraffin wax content than other crude oils.

“The oil must be carried via insulated trucks at 160 degrees to maintain a fluid state for delivery at the WCUF,” said Terminal Manager Shawn Acerson with Marathon Petroleum’s midstream segment, MPLX. “At 120 degrees, it starts turning into a solid form like a candle.”

AFTER: The WCUF after completion of the project, which added a canopy to protect drivers from the weather along with expanding the facility from two to five lanes and adding new skids, meters and pumps.

Waxy crude oil has less sulfur than other crude oils, resulting in lower processing emissions and a higher quality of low-sulfur fuel. These advantages are being maximized through the project collaboration with MPLX’s Terminals organization. More than doubling the WCUF’s lane capacity allows trucks to get the crude oil into the refinery much faster, making the delivery process more productive.

"The traffic efficiencies and environmental gains from this project represent a true win-win for our site and local residents.”

“This project allows the company fleet to be more efficient, decreasing wait times for scaling and unloading trucks. We will only become more reliable because of this project,” said MPLX Transport Operations Senior Manager Wes Grady. “It also helps our dispatch group more efficiently manage carriers, who also share similar benefits with wait times.”

The new lanes and equipment are allowing trucks to move through the waxy crude oil unloading facility much faster, reducing idling emissions and truck traffic on adjacent city streets.

The WCUF project took almost a year to complete after the permit was received in 2023. The refinery’s Senior Stakeholder Engagement Representative Dean Adam pointed out how this initiative exemplifies Marathon Petroleum’s goals in the communities where it operates.

“We strive to find and create shared value with our stakeholders,” Adam said. “The traffic efficiencies and environmental gains from this project represent a true win-win for our site and local residents.”