AFPM honours facilities with outstanding safety practices

The awards are part of a comprehensive programme developed by the AFPM Safety and Health Committee to promote safe operations in the refining and petrochemical industries. They also recognise facilities that have outstanding occupational and process safety performance.

“Nothing is more important to the refining and petrochemical industries than keeping their people, facilities and communities safe. Our commitment to safety is ongoing and we continually look for new ways to improve our operations to provide the safest working conditions for our employees and ultimately the families, friends and neighbours who live near our facilities. It is this continued commitment to safety that brought about the AFPM Safety Awards to honour those that seek to exceed previous safety records and innovate to make constant improvements,” said AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson.

The refining and petrochemical industries’ commitment to safety is reflected in their records, where they have consistently ranked as one of the safest of more than 500 manufacturing industries tracked by the US government over the last decade.

The highest honour, the ‘Distinguished Safety Award’, is awarded to the top sites with outstanding safety performance, programme innovation and safety leadership. This honour was awarded to three facilities this year for achieving a sustained, exemplary level of safety performance, they are:

• ExxonMobil Chemical Co. – Beaumont Chemical Plant.
• LyondellBasell Industries – Bayport Complex.
• Phillips 66 – Sweeny Refinery.

The ‘Elite Gold Award’ recognises facilities with safety performances in the top five percentile and that have demonstrated superior and consistent safety performance, programme innovation and leadership, has been given to 15 facilities this year:

• Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP – Borger Plant.
• Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP – Orange Plant.
• ExxonMobil Chemical Co. – Baytown Olefins Plant.
• ExxonMobil Chemical Co. – Mont Belvieu Plastics Plant.
• LyondellBasell Industries – Chocolate Bayou Polymers Plant.
• LyondellBasell Industries – Houston Refinery.
• LyondellBasell Industries – Louisiana Integrated PolyEthylene JV.
• LyondellBasell Industries – Matagorda Complex.
• Marathon Petroleum Co. – Anacortes Refinery.
• Phillips 66 – Bayway Refinery.
• Phillips 66 – Santa Maria Refinery.
• Phillips 66 – WRB Refining LP - Borger Refinery.
• Placid Refining Company LLC.
• Valero Energy Corp. – Memphis Refinery.
• Valero Energy Corp. – Three Rivers Refinery.

The ‘Elite Silver Award’ recognises those sites that have attained top industry safety performance for the application year and demonstrated excellent programme innovation and leadership over time. The Elite Silver Award recognises the top 10 percentile of industry safety and this year was awarded to 12 facilities:

• Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP – Port Arthur Plant.
• Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP – Sweeny, Old Ocean, and Clemens Facility.
• ExxonMobil/SABIC Joint Venture – Gulf Coast Growth Ventures.
• HF Sinclair Corp. – Navajo Refining LLC.
• LyondellBasell Industries – Victoria Plant.
• Marathon Petroleum Co. – El Paso Refinery.
• OQ Chemicals Corp. – Bay City Site.
• PBF Energy Inc. – Martinez Refining Co. LLC.
• Phillips 66 – Ponca City Refinery.
• Valero Energy Corp. – McKee Refinery.
• Valero Energy Corp. – Wilmington Asphalt Plant.

The AFPM ‘Innovation Awards’, introduced in 2020, recognise refineries, petrochemical facilities and their contractors that have developed unique and innovative programmes or practices that effectively improve the site’s safety performance for either occupational or process safety. Eight sites received the award this year and they are: Enterprise Products Operating LLC; Phillips 66 – Sweeny Refinery; Valero Energy Corp. – Ardmore Refinery and Valero Energy Corp. – Benicia Refinery for their innovative work benefitting occupational safety and Cheniere Energy – Sabine Pass LNG LLC; Flint Hills Resources LLC – Corpus Christi Complex; Flint Hills Resources LLC – Pine Bend Refinery and Marathon Petroleum Co. – Galveston Bay Refinery for their innovations to improve process safety.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/24042023/afpm-honours-facilities-with-outstanding-safety-practices/