Turner Industries Group, based in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, was contracted to construct
a new coker unit and related structures for the
Cenex Harvest States (CHS) oil refinery in Laurel,
Montana, just outside Billings. The $325
million expansion, the biggest in the refinery’s
history, had a very aggressive construction
schedule that included building roads, a new
rail car loading system, electrical substation
and control room.
Cokers break down the asphalt produced by
crude oil processing to create more gasoline
and diesel fuel, leaving coke as a residual
product. Coke is used like coal to fuel power
generation plants. With the 15,000 barrel/day
coker unit, the refinery expected to increase
its production of gasoline and diesel by about
20 percent, without increasing the amount of
crude oil refined.