The Cenovus Lima Refinery isn't going anywhere. 26 years after BP planned to close the refinery, the Lima refinery now plans on being here for decades to come, but there are challenges ahead.
Pictured: Cenovus Lima Refinery.
Lima Rotarians heard from Cenovus' chief sustainability officer and senior vice president on Monday. Rhona DelFrari says the Lima refinery is a critical component of the Canadian-based company. The Lima facility produces gas, diesel, and jet fuel and supplies 25% of the gas used in Ohio. They are also a part of the United States defense supply chain. DelFrari acknowledges less oil being used in the future with the battery-powered vehicle trend growing, but the need for oil-based products isn't going anywhere.
"Every credible forecast out there shows that there will be a demand for oil and gas well into the future, decades and decades to come," states Rhona DelFrari, chief sustainability officer & senior vice president at Cenovus Energy. "Cenovus is focused on creating the most sustainable when it comes to the environment and our commitment to our communities, oil and gas products and we feel that we are going to earn our right to be that supplier well into the future."
Lima refines 175,000 barrels of crude oil each day and made in excess of a billion-dollar investment in recent years to be able to refine Canadian heavy crude. She says the recent acquisition of the Toledo refinery will benefit both facilities.
"We see that there will be efficiencies when we do our marketing and how we buy our product that we need at both of our refineries so we believe this will be a benefit to Lima and region that we also acquire the Toledo refinery," added DelFrari.
The acquisition of the Toledo refinery will be finalized in the 4th quarter of this year.
