MCPHERSON, Kan., Feb. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Member-owners of CHS Inc. (NASDAQ: CHSCP), the nation's leading cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company, are now benefitting from the recently completed coker at the company's central Kansas refinery.
Construction of the coker unit at the CHS Refinery at McPherson began in March 2013 and took nearly 2.8 million construction man hours to complete. The unit began operating on Feb. 5, 2016.
"The new coker allows the refinery to process a larger variety of crude oils, thus delivering the best value to our owners and customers by purchasing the most cost-effective crude oil available," said Jim Loving, CHS senior vice president, refining, pipelines and terminals. "We're also able to meet increased product demand while creating an even safer operating environment for our employees."
During the refining process, the coker converts the heaviest portion of crude oil into more valuable liquid products that can then be converted into gasoline or diesel fuel. Any remaining product is sold as petroleum coke for use in industrial applications.
The CHS Refinery at Laurel, Mont., began operating a new coker unit in 2008. Upgrades at each refinery are expected to bring combined production to 160,000 barrels a day in 2019. In recent years, CHS has invested $2 billion in refined fuels manufacturing and distribution upgrades and ownership to serve our owners and customers.
Safety is a central feature of the new unit which has a fully automated decoking control system. This allows operators to drill out and remove coke from the drums from a protected area that is a safe distance away from the coker. Prior to successful startup, unit operators were extensively trained and equipment was thoroughly checked and tested.
"Replacing our previous coker, built in 1952, was essential for the refinery's continued operation," said Rick Leicht, McPherson refinery vice president. "Our new coker is state of the art and improves operational safety and reliability. In addition, we have flexibility in processing the most economically favorable crude oils."
CHS Inc. (www.chsinc.com) is a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy, grains and foods, CHS is committed to helping its customers, farmer-owners and other stakeholders grow their businesses through its domestic and global operations. CHS, a Fortune 100 company, supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain marketing services, animal feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.
This document and other CHS Inc. publicly available documents contain, and CHS officers and representatives may from time to time make, "forward–looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Report Act of 1995. Forward–looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods. Forward–looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on CHS current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of its businesses, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward–looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of CHS control. CHS actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward–looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward–looking statements. Important factors that could cause CHS actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward–looking statements are discussed or identified in CHS public filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the "Risk Factors" discussion in Item 1A of CHS Annual Report on Form 10–K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2015. Any forward–looking statements made by CHS in this document are based only on information currently available to CHS and speak only as of the date on which the statement is made. CHS undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward–looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
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SOURCE CHS Inc.
