Borger Refinery
One of the many oil refineries in the state of Texas is located within the city of Borger. This plant first began operating in 1927, and it is currently run by ConocoPhillips.
In 2008 the Borger plant came under attack from the Environmental Protection Agency and United States Justice Department. The watchdog groups accused the facility of massive pollution and violating the Clean Water Act more than 2,000 times during a seven year period between 1999 and 2006. ConocoPhillips was fined $1.2 million for their violations, and quickly agreed to pay.
Aside from the fine, ConocoPhillips was required to bring their facility up to code in order to reduce the amount of emissions and bring the level of pollution back down to an acceptable level. They are also required to monitor toxicity levels at close by bodies of water that have been contaminated by chemicals from the refinery.
Another expense faced by ConocoPhillips from this deal was a $600,000 charge that will go to reduce the amount of solid waste that is dumped into local waterways. There are two primary bodies of water near the plant that are expected to be properly monitored, Dixon Creek and the Canadian River.
The Borger refinery has maintained and continued to thrive through this predicament, as it did previously when it was faced with the mandatory removal of all products that were made of asbestos from the premises. This was done following a discovery that proved asbestos is a toxic material that can easily be inhaled, and commonly leads to respiratory disorders and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that can lead to serious health complications and even death. Mention of the disease is seen and heard frequently in news stories and advertisements for class act lawsuits against corporations that willingly kept the dangerous material at work sites and did not warn their employees about the hazard.
As of January 1st, 2007, ConocoPhillips began the process of merging with a company called EnCana for the ownership of the Borger refinery. At the start of the year, ConocoPhillips relinquished 15% of control over the facility, then in 2008 they released 20% more, and finally in 2009, both companies would share an equal 50% of the interest in the plant. The facility runs continuously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is capable of processing 146,000 barrels of crude oil each day of operation.
Last modified: December 09, 2009.
