American Institute Of Chemical Engineers Honors Marathon Petroleum Company With New Engineering And Construction Award - AIChE Press Release

American Institute Of Chemical Engineers Honors Marathon Petroleum Company With New Engineering And Construction Award

November 17, 2010

NEW YORK – In a ceremony during its Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City last week, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) presented its new Engineering and Construction Award to Marathon Petroleum Company for the successful design and construction of the addition to its Garyville, Louisiana, refinery. This award recognizes individuals and teams for achievement in the design and/or construction of process plants or process plant revamps. 

The Garyville project, the largest-ever refinery project in the U.S. and the largest private-sector project in Louisiana’s history, was completed in 37 months, despite numerous challenges including two hurricanes. The project boosted the local economy in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, allowing for placement of over $1.5 billion in contracts to Louisiana companies. 
 
In presenting the award, Robert Davis, chair of the AIChE Awards Committee and a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, further described how the $3.9 billion project, completed in 2009, had a construction workforce of nearly 10,000 people. James Shoriak, director of major downstream projects at Marathon, accepted the award on behalf of the company.
 
The Marathon project involved a full-conversion refinery designed for medium sour crude — built to capitalize on the facility location along the Mississippi River at the crossroads of major pipeline systems, and integrated into the existing Garyville Refinery. The project will continue to offer employment opportunities for technicians, engineers and other professions for many years into the future — and it positions Louisiana and Marathon to remain competitive on a world-wide basis in the refining industry. 
 
Davis read the official award citation:  “In recognition of the successful execution of the massive Garyville Major Expansion Project during 2006 – 2010, meeting challenges with intelligence, innovation and hard work.” 

About AIChE:

AIChE is a professional society of more than 40,000 chemical engineers in 92 countries. Its members work in corporations, universities and government using their knowledge of chemical processes to develop safe and useful products for the benefit of society. Through its varied programs, AIChE continues to be a focal point for information exchange on the frontier of chemical engineering research in such areas as nanotechnology, sustainability, hydrogen fuels, biological and environmental engineering, and chemical plant safety and security. More information about AIChE is available at www.aiche.org.