PBF Energy acquires Shell’s Martinez refinery

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Does Chevron still have that bomb factory in Richmond? I remember as a kid the refineries around Martinez be-fouling the air and all us kids in the station wagon accusing each other of [censored].
 
Originally Posted by sloinker
Does Chevron still have that bomb factory in Richmond? I remember as a kid the refineries around Martinez be-fouling the air and all us kids in the station wagon accusing each other of [censored].

Still there.

I thought that the one that had most of the problems was the Golden Eagle refinery.
 
Originally Posted by y_p_w
This was Shell's first refinery in the US and was continuously owned by them (or Equilon) since 1915.

https://www.shell.com/media/news-an...agrees-to-sale-of-martinez-refinery.html
https://investors.pbfenergy.com/news/2020/02-01-2020-124343887
https://martinezgazette.com/refinery-transaction-complete-martinez-refinery-company-born/

So now Shell no longer has a refinery in California.

I was talking to an Uber driver a few months ago about that - he was a pipefitter there and I know someone from my grade school days who's a clerical worker there. The pipefitter told me it was a surprise but he was retirement eligible this year. I knew people who worked at Chevron.

PBF also owns the former XOM refinery in Torrance. As progressive as the Bay Area is, the refineries in Contra Costa County are still there. Chevron in Richmond and Shell in Martinez provides the jet fuel for SFO via pipeline I believe. Golden Eagle was deadly when Tosco ran it - I remember as a kid a PR stunt that they did by sending the refinery ERP team and a regular employee to each school in west and central Contra Costa and handing out rulers after a presentation. It's in Tesoro/Marathon's hands now and nothing major has happened.
 
Originally Posted by nthach
y_p_w said:
I was talking to an Uber driver a few months ago about that - he was a pipefitter there and I know someone from my grade school days who's a clerical worker there. The pipefitter told me it was a surprise but he was retirement eligible this year. I knew people who worked at Chevron.

PBF also owns the former XOM refinery in Torrance. As progressive as the Bay Area is, the refineries in Contra Costa County are still there. Chevron in Richmond and Shell in Martinez provides the jet fuel for SFO via pipeline I believe. Golden Eagle was deadly when Tosco ran it - I remember as a kid a PR stunt that they did by sending the refinery ERP team and a regular employee to each school in west and central Contra Costa and handing out rulers after a presentation. It's in Tesoro/Marathon's hands now and nothing major has happened.


I remember meeting an old HS friend randomly and found that he was working as a chemical engineer at Chevron Richmond. That's not just a refinery but a major fuel/lubricant additive development center. And as far as Richmond goes, the Point Richmond area was always considered one of the best, most desirable places to live in Richmond. I also remember as a kid I'd been to the Chevron rod & gun club many times as a class trip. An employee had to sponsor school groups. It was pretty easy for a single elementary school class in the sixth grade, but we ended up going there in junior high and even as junior/senior in HS.

Pacific Refining is gone and I can't even tell where it used to be even though it was next to i-80. But the Phillips 66 refinery is still there and possibly the most visible.

A neighbor of mine works for county hazardous waste. His name sometimes ends up in the news because he's the one who has to talk to reporters when there are refinery incidents. I asked him if he needs to respond to them at any time, and he said he'd even been recalled from vacation.
 
Originally Posted by sloinker
Does Chevron still have that bomb factory in Richmond?

There was an actual bomb factory in the area. What's now Point Pinole Regional Shoreline contains what used to be the Giant Powder Company. I remember taking a walk there once with my wife to the sound of gunfire across from Point Richmond. I think they were skeet shooting into the Bay.
 
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by sloinker
Does Chevron still have that bomb factory in Richmond?

There was an actual bomb factory in the area. What's now Point Pinole Regional Shoreline contains what used to be the Giant Powder Company. I remember taking a walk there once with my wife to the sound of gunfire across from Point Richmond. I think they were skeet shooting into the Bay.

And Hercules got their name from the Hercules Powder Company. I did a little, ahem, exploration there a long time ago.

Chevron used to make fertilizers and pesticides next to their refinery. My high school science teacher was a lab tech at the Ortho plant. She had to quit when her cholinesterase levels dropped below an acceptable level.
 
Originally Posted by nthach
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by sloinker
Does Chevron still have that bomb factory in Richmond?

There was an actual bomb factory in the area. What's now Point Pinole Regional Shoreline contains what used to be the Giant Powder Company. I remember taking a walk there once with my wife to the sound of gunfire across from Point Richmond. I think they were skeet shooting into the Bay.

And Hercules got their name from the Hercules Powder Company. I did a little, ahem, exploration there a long time ago.

Chevron used to make fertilizers and pesticides next to their refinery. My high school science teacher was a lab tech at the Ortho plant. She had to quit when her cholinesterase levels dropped below an acceptable level.

Yeah - I remember when Ortho was a division of Chevron before they sold it to Monsanto.

That sounds kind of scary though. Still - I remember handling lots of pesticides. The warning labels on many of the flea powders, dips, and collars for my dog had all these warnings about them being cholinesterase inhibitors. Basically a nerve toxin that prevents the breakdown of choline. Once in my younger and more stupid days I caught a cricket in a jar and rather than releasing it (it was making a huge racket) I poured a few drops of concentrated diazinon in the jar. It just started twitching like I've seen in movies where insects are used as indicators of an active nerve toxin. It didn't explode though. It just kept on twitching over and over again until it stopped. It was probably already dead within seconds, but it just kept on twitching for about a minute.
 
I went to that Shell facility a couple times. SAE student tour I recall thinking "I'll never effing work here - i'll be Dead at 30 years old" and I lived downwind of Chevron Richmond with all it's stink.
 
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