The CITGO Corpus Christi refinery has been honored with two 2009 Save Energy Now Awards from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Industrial Technologies Program, which oversees the Save Energy Now program, recently announced the winners at the World Energy Engineering Congress in Washington, D.C.

 

The Energy Champion Award, the highest award given in the DOE Save Energy Now program, was presented to the CITGO Corpus Christi East Plant for achieving energy savings equal to 15% of total plant energy consumption.

 

Only 47 companies, including CITGO, were named “Energy Champions” for 2009 in recognition of their hard work at reducing overall energy use.

 

The Energy Saver Award, the second award presented to CITGO, went to the CITGO Corpus Christi West Plant for achieving energy savings of 7.5% of total plant energy consumption. CITGO was one of only 93 companies to receive this distinction.

 

“CITGO is very proud of the DOE’s recognition of our continued commitment to conservation of natural resources through our energy programs,” said Kevin Ferrall, general manager and vice president for CITGO Corpus Christi Refinery.

 

Save Energy Now is a national initiative by the DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program aimed at reducing industrial energy intensity by 25% during the next 10 years. CITGO demonstrated that they are on track for this target based on ratings from on-site energy savings assessments sponsored by the DOE. The CITGO Corpus Christi refinery as a whole received an energy assessment score of 88%, significantly better than the industry average of 75%, after a three-day survey of both East and West plants’ energy-savings projects. Employees at the CITGO Corpus Christi refinery have worked hard to reduce total energy use and ensure efficiency, particularly through the plant’s steam systems.

 

Other efforts at the CITGO Corpus Christi refinery include programs designed to save water and reduce emissions. Energy efficient practices were a factor in the reduction of overall air emissions by more than 61% between 2004 and 2009, including a reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases by more than 27%. The refinery has also been able to reduce water use to just 18 gallons to process each barrel of feedstock, as compared to an industry average of 28 gallons per barrel.