Refinery Alerts

On Thursday morning, August 6, Marathon Petroleum firefighters will conduct a fire extinguisher training class training that will result in periods of visible smoke from company property. 

This notification is for information only, and there is no community action required.

Safety is one of Marathon Petroleum’s highest priorities, and we conduct training regularly to ensure constant readiness.

 

UPDATE: July 1, 2020

Our neighbors near the refinery may notice increased flaring as we begin re-starting several of the units that were shut down for maintenance. The refinery’s flares may appear brighter than normal, and you may see them around the clock, for several days, but this is part of the normal operational procedure. We have notified the appropriate agencies, and there is no anticipated impact to the environment or air quality.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Detroit refinery hotline at (313) 297-6272.

 

The Detroit refinery is committed to operating a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly facility.

To ensure the operational efficiency of the refinery and maintain a high level of safety, a planned maintenance period has been scheduled, beginning June 16 and running for approximately 30 days.

While there is no anticipated impact to the community, controlled flaring may be noticeable. As a reminder, flares are safety devices primarily used to protect the refinery equipment, and part of normal operations to reduce emissions. More information about the Detroit refinery flaring process can be found here.

Throughout this planned maintenance period you may see increased traffic in and around the refinery. We expect all refinery employees and contractors to operate their vehicles in a safe manner.

Should you have any questions about this scheduled maintenance period, please feel free to contact the Detroit refinery hotline at (313) 297-6272

As always, you can sign-up to receive emergency alerts from the Detroit refinery here.

The Detroit refinery is a key part of the petrochemical industry, and is serving a critical role in the fight against COVID-19. Here’s a video taht describes the central role of petrochemicals in health care, and why the petrochemical industry is considered critical infrastructure.

 

At Marathon Petroleum, our priority is to protect our employees, contractors and the communities we serve as we continue providing the fuels and other products that are essential to keeping us all safe.

Marathon Petroleum has had a pandemic response plan in place for many years. Since January, as the COVID-19 outbreak has spread, we have reviewed and updated our plan, guided by global health experts including the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, local health authorities, and state and federal governments.

Additionally, Marathon Petroleum is promoting proven personal hygiene practices to employees, including frequent handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes and minimizing physical contact where possible. As many U.S. states have implemented “social distancing” measures to reduce the probability of spreading the virus from otherwise healthy people to those most at risk, Marathon Petroleum has introduced remote working programs; limited attendance and duration of meetings; restricted visitors at our facilities; and actively encouraged employees to avoid large crowds and unnecessary physical contact. Other company policies have been updated to reflect the changing work environment and to accommodate the needs of our employees.

Other measures in place have included targeted travel restrictions; self-quarantine guidelines; additional cleaning protocols; business-continuity plans to accommodate staffing needs in the event of illness-related absenteeism; working with critical suppliers to ensure ongoing support in the event of illness-related disruptions; providing additional hand-sanitizers at owned-and-operated retail stores; and communicating frequently to all employees regarding the risks of COVID-19, and mitigation steps they should take to protect themselves and others.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic Marathon Petroleum donated personal protective equipment to local healthcare providers This donation included nearly 40,000 masks to local and regional Michigan hospitals, including Beaumont Health System, Wayne Campus, Henry Ford Hospital, Beaumont Children’s Hospital and the Helen DeVoss Children’s Hospital.

Additionally, the Detroit refinery made a $5,000 donation to the to Detroit Public Safety Foundation to assist the needs of DPD and DFD during this unpreceded time. And a $5,000 donation has been made to the Detroit Area Salvation Army so they can continue their valuable work in the face of COVID-19.

The energy industry is critical to the nation’s infrastructure and the Detroit refinery is maintaining production capabilities. We are necessarily exempt from some state and local restrictions in order to ensure this service and have implemented other measures at our facilities to protect our employees, contractors and the communities we serve. We continue to monitor the latest local and national developments regarding COVID-19 and adjust our response to the situation daily, as events warrant.

Please stay safe and healthy,

Dave Leaver,

General Manager

Detroit Refinery