Casper Refinery
In 1912 two separate oil refineries were founded in Casper, Wyoming. One was controlled by The Midwest Oil Company and the other by the Franco Petroleum Company, although Franco was soon taken over by Midwest and the two facilities were turned into one larger plant. . The very next year Amoco Refinery Property began to operate in the same area, and for a while there were three active sites within Casper.
By 1928, Amoco purchased Midwest, which had previously taken control over Franco, leaving Amoco to be the sole refinery in operation within Casper. The growing company took over all of the property their former competitors owned, and expanded into one much larger facility.
In 1998, another major change occurred when Amoco agreed to a merger with the British Petroleum company, and thereafter became widely known as BP. The Casper plant was eventually shut down, but during its peak the facility was noted as being capable of producing up to 48,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The plant participated in some practices that were noticed by environmental groups such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for being hazardous and illegal. These practices included the unsafe storage of hazardous materials, improper disposal methods and dumping waste water into a small lake a few miles away.
The EPA began to deal with this situation in the 1980's, but it was a drawn out process that continued for many years until the transfer was made to BP. EPA officials continued to deal with BP executives to achieve a resolution to the environmental hazards. They created a list of tasks that had to be accomplished by BP Corporation. Those included the creation of a better storage method for contaminants and measures to stop these chemicals from being allowed to seep into the nearby North Platte River, the removal of contaminated soils, pipes and other still standing equipment, and advanced system to be used to clean and restore the water supplies around the refinery as well as other similar items to help ensure the area was left free of toxins.
During the time when the facility was still in operation, it had faced another serious health related issue. Years ago many oil refineries and other industrial sites purchased many products that were made with asbestos for use around the plant. These products were popular at oil refineries because they were able to stand up to very hot temperatures. This was before asbestos was discovered to be a dangerous substance that can cause respiratory failure and a life threatening type of cancer, mesothelioma. Upon that discovery, the refinery had to remove all asbestos based products, but any employee who was on staff while these items were in use is urged to notify their doctor about the possible exposure.
Efforts to reclaim the land where the Casper refinery once stood are currently underway, largely due to the efforts of a community group called The Casper Community Facilitation Initiative. They continue to look into the possibility of cleaning the soil and returning the land to a state where it can be used by the public once again.
Last modified: December 09, 2009.
