North America’s longest continuously operating refinery can hold on to its title.
On Thursday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf declared all non-life-sustaining businesses must close until further notice amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.
As a critical contributor to the nation, American Refining Group (ARG) is exempt from this mandate and remains in operation.
ARG President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Giberson said, “Products derived from petroleum quite literally make the world go around. Gasoline, diesel fuel and lubricants keep things moving and our specialty products are used in products all around us, that we all use every day.”
From fuels used in electric power plants, backup-power generators for hospitals and nursing homes, emergency vehicles and commercial transportation (truck and rail) distributing food, to specialty products used in manufacturing medical supplies, these are just a few examples. The Bradford refinery makes hundreds of products and is the largest supplier of zinc-free railroad engine oil east of the Mississippi River.
“We are doing everything we can to keep our employees safe, following CDC recommendations and establishing new policies as the situation evolves,” Giberson said.
He explained that ARG has implemented visitor and contractor screening, eliminated all company travel indefinitely and set up employees who can perform their job tasks remotely to work from home beginning Monday.
To date, ARG has not experienced any operational impacts from COVID-19, whether shipping, receiving or staffing.
“We don’t have a complicated global supply chain; the majority of our supplies come from within 500 miles of our plant,” Giberson said. “We really rely on the hard-working crude-oil producers in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.”
Further, ARG’s 181-acre campus comprises the entire refining process, from receiving crude oil to shipping out finished, packaged products.
“It all happens right here in Bradford,” Giberson said. “Staying healthy and working – keeping the refinery running – is the greatest contribution we can make to our community.”
