July 19, 2024 [Simbaforkids]- In May 2023, it was announced that Southern Rock Energy Partners would build the nation’s first major refinery in 45 years in Cushing. Officials said they envision a “next-generation” refinery complex that will generate and consume hydrogen as a fuel source, with the goal of having a zero carbon footprint.

As planned, the facility will have the capacity to produce more than 91 million gallons of fuels annually, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.Construction work on the facility was scheduled to begin early this year.

Southern Rock managing member Steven Ward said on Wednesday that unforeseen challenges, including land acquisition, had been met by the company and had pushed back its timetable for developing and opening the facility.

Ward said Southern Rock remains committed to opening the refinery complex near Cushing.

“The site we chose we couldn’t acquire, so now we’re working on acquiring another site, possibly a little further from Cushing proper,” Ward said.

As planned, the refinery would occupy about 400 acres; the entire complex would cover a minimum of 640 acres.

Ward said local and state leaders remain very supportive of the project. The refinery is expected to create more than 420 full-time jobs and generate more than $18 billion in economic impact in its first decade of operation.

He said Southern Rock, based in El Campo, Texas, has also attracted support from leading energy companies in the industry interested in the “synergies” a Cushing refinery that harnesses modern technologies would provide.

Cushing, with a well-established energy infrastructure, including tank farms capable of storing approximately 100 million barrels of crude oil, has been called the “pipeline crossroads of the world.” Over its history, more than 50 refineries have been centered around the Payne County community, which has a population of about 7,800.

Cushing’s vast network of storage and pipelines has made it a critical part of the nation’s energy sector.

“We are still motivated to be in Cushing. It’s just taking a little longer than we expected,” Ward said. “Projects of this size are always going to be a challenge, but we knew that going in and we’ve managed those challenges and we still have every intention of moving forward.”

It was reported in 2023 that the state offered about $1.5 billion in economic incentives to Southern Rock, while Cushing offered about $75 million in incentives.

“As the ‘crossroads of the world,’ Cushing is the perfect location for this project. We look forward to working with the company and the Cushing community to further strengthen Oklahoma’s ‘all of the above’ energy approach with the addition of this $5.5 billion facility,” said Brent Kisling, who at the time at one time he was the executive director of Oklahoma. Commercial department.