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Marathon Petroleum outlines Kenai refinery’s role, warns of natural-gas and crude supply challenges
Summary
Marathon Petroleum officials described the Kenai Refinery’s operations, local economic role and environmental investments and warned the assembly that natural-gas and Cook Inlet crude supply constraints present operational and cost challenges for the refinery.
Representatives of Marathon Petroleum’s Kenai Refinery gave a 10-minute presentation to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly describing the refinery’s history, products and the operational challenges it faces, particularly natural-gas supply and declining Cook Inlet crude production.
Bruce Jackman, the Kenai plant general manager, said the refinery processes Cook Inlet crude and is the only Alaska refinery still producing gasoline in-state. He outlined the refinery’s regional distribution network, the workforce (about 250 employees based on the presentation), and investments in environmental performance, including an earlier $44 million project to reduce gas-flare flow.
Jackman told the assembly natural gas is the primary feedstock and fuel for heating units and hydrogen production used in hydroprocessing and that the refinery currently struggles with both supply reliability and cost for natural gas. He noted a long-term decline in Cook Inlet crude production — from about 225,000 barrels per day in the late 1970s to roughly 8,000 barrels per day today — which requires the refinery to import crude to maintain operations.
Assembly members asked what the borough could do to help. Jackman said the most helpful local action is to support development that brings more production in Cook Inlet; as a short-term measure he mentioned the possibility of importing LNG, which he acknowledged is politically sensitive but one option to address supply and cost pressures. Borough leaders and the mayor praised Marathon for community involvement, workforce investment and charitable contributions.
The presentation was framed as community outreach and the company offered to follow up with the assembly and staff to discuss energy matters further.
