Tesoro Refineries
Los Angeles (Wilmington) Refinery

Click here for a printable (PDF) version of this page.

Tesoro's Los Angeles refinery is located in Wilmington, Calif. on approximately 300 acres in the South Bay of the City of Los Angeles. At 97,000 barrels per day, it is the third largest refinery in Tesoro's system. The refinery was acquired by Tesoro in May 2007 and processes heavy crude from California's San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles Basin as well as imported crudes from South America and other international sources via the Port of Long Beach. The refinery manufactures gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuels, petroleum coke and fuel oil.

The refinery has a rich history that dates back to the early 1900s. Since then, it has expanded and improved its operations to meet the increasing demand for clean petroleum products and to respond to new environmental regulations. In California, the refinery was one of the few state diesel manufacturers that produced a cleaner burning diesel fuel before the California Air Resources Board adopted a regulation requiring low-aromatic content diesel.

The Wilmington sales terminal sits adjacent to the refinery and receives petroleum products from the Los Angeles refinery. The terminal features a four-lane bottom-load rack, which distributes 32,000 barrels per day of all grades of gasoline and low-sulfur diesel primarily to Tesoro's Shell® and USA Gasoline® stations. Tesoro also distributes products through purchase and exchange agreements with other refining and marketing companies.

Environment

Throughout our operations, we make environmental protection a priority in all policies and practices, including compliance with federal, state and local environmental regulations. Adherence to strict environmental laws requires a significant, ongoing investment in equipment and programs.

Tesoro’s Los Angeles refinery recently invested over $125 million in new equipment that has reduced particulate emissions, and $50 million to reduce gas combusted in refinery flares. Independent audits are periodically conducted to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. Daily surveys of the refinery are conducted to identify and eliminate potential sources of odors.

Tesoro will continue to make environmental improvements in the refinery that will reduce green house gas emissions. The refinery is further implementing projects to reduce our own energy footprint by lowering our energy consumption.

Health and Safety

The Los Angeles refinery’s Three Basic Principals embodied by all employees are:
• Do it SAFELY or not at all.
• There is ALWAYS time to do it right.
• We operate at the PLEASURE of the Community.

These principles and Tesoro’s vigilant safety programs have contributed to improvements in employee safety. Since joining the Tesoro family, the Los Angeles refinery has seen continuous improvement in safety performance. Commitment to the Behavioral Safety Process and employee participation in the program are the cornerstones of the recent success.

The refinery’s Joint Health and Safety Committee focuses on Process Safety Management (PSM) programs and initiatives to improve the overall safety of employees and contractors. Throughout the year, the refinery continues to advance existing health and safety processes and emergency preparedness.

Community

Tesoro’s Los Angeles refinery strives to make a positive impact on youth and their families in the Los Angeles and Long Beach areas and surrounding communities. By partnering with schools and other community groups to promote innovative programs, we can help ensure academic success. In 2008, the Los Angeles refinery gave over $250,000 in charitable contributions to local education funds, environmental programs and community organizations. Throughout the year, our employees invest in a number of worthwhile initiatives through financial support and by volunteering time and expertise. In 2008, employees volunteered in more than 50 community projects with over 1,550 hours of community service. The Los Angeles refinery and employees donated over $180,000 to the United Way Los Angeles through employee donations and company match.

As part of Tesoro’s company-wide commitment to Special Olympics, more than 40 employees and their families competed in the Special Olympics Southern California Plane Pull Challenge and Polar Plunge.

In 2008, Tesoro donated $25,000 to the Friends of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium for educational programs enabling schools in Wilmington and Long Beach to visit the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium to learn about the environment and conduct marine research.

Also, more than $25,000 was donated in 2008 to local veteran organizations to help veterans
re-enter the workforce and assist with local veteran engaging activities.