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    October 25, 2011

Indiana Town's Economy Benefits from Canadian Oil Boom

   Kane Farabaugh | Whiting, Indiana

   The town of Whiting, Indiana, is home to the largest inland oil
   refinery in the United States. The energy company BP operates the
   Whiting Refinery, which originally was built by the Standard Oil
   Company in 1889. Now with heavier crude oil piped into the facility
   from Canadian tar sands, the facility is getting a multi-billion dollar
   upgrade. BP's investment in the refinery is an economic windfall for
   the small town, but environmentalists say the improvements bring
   increased pollution.

   It's hard to find signs of high unemployment and a struggling economy
   along the streets of Whiting, Indiana.
   Local resident Brian Lowry of the Whiting Development Commission says
   that is because Whiting is the beneficiary of one of BP's biggest
   investment projects in North America, the upgrade of the Whiting
   Refinery.
   'Thanks to that investment, which is the largest in the state of
   Indiana's history, yes, we've been sheltered from the [economic]
   storm,' he said.
   BP is spending an estimated $3.8 billion to increase the refinery's
   capacity to process heavy crude oil, brought by pipeline from the tar
   sands of Alberta, Canada.
   'So the $4 billion modernization is really providing a huge economic
   shot in the arm to northwest Indiana, in general,' Lowry said.
   'Right now we have roughly 8,000 folks on site, about 6,000 contractors
   and roughly 2,000 full-time employees,' said Brad Etlin, BP's local
   Director of Government and Public Affairs. 'There are thousands of
   people on site each and every day that are out there visiting local
   stores and local restaurants. There are significant indirect benefits
   for local towns, local communities. When the modernization project is
   complete, there will be a significant increase in the tax base for some
   of the local municipalities.'
   Although most people who live in the shadow of the refinery will enjoy
   lower property taxes and newly constructed public facilities, not
   everyone is happy that more oil will pass through the refinery.
   'Is there going to be a price reduction for gasoline? I don't think
   so,' said Steve Kozel, President of the Calumet Project, a citizens
   group he says that promotes social, economic and environmental justice.
   The organization has opposed some of BP's environmental permits with
   the state of Indiana, citing concerns about the amount of pollution
   increased refining will create near the facility and along Lake
   Michigan.
   'Our concern is what exactly is it going to be doing to the air," said
   Kozel. "They're going to be increasing the sulfur by 20 percent, the
   particulate matter by 21 percent, and increasing lead by 25 percent
   into the air, so this is a big increase. You're talking almost 20
   percent, once the refinery is manufactured.'
   BP's Brad Etlin says some of the money for the modernization project is
   targeted at reducing the amount of pollution the plant produces.
   'We're investing more than $1 billion in environmental improvements -
   both in our waste water treatment plants as well as other parts of the
   refinery,' he said.
   Local resident Brian Lowry says that so far, he has seen no ill
   effects.
   'My children swim safely in the water here. Certainly we breathe the
   air here with no issues," he said. "So as far as environmental concerns
   go, I don't have any.'
   The upgrade to the Whiting facility, which produces about 405,000
   barrels of oil a day, is about two-thirds completed. BP says the
   modernization project, which began in 2008, should be finished by 2013.