Flint weighs options for North Pole refinery

An e-mail from Flint Hills Resources President and CEO Brad Razook to the company’s employees is raising speculation about the company’s intentions regarding its North Pole refinery near Fairbanks, Alaska.

“We want to make you aware we are exploring a number of alternatives for our North Pole refinery,” Razook said in the e-mail.

He said Flint Hills is going to evaluate three options.

Those options consist of making investments that will increase production and reduce operating costs; selling the facility to a business that places a higher value on the assets than does Flint Hills; and reconfiguring the plant.

He said that the evaluation forms part of regular assessment of the internal value of all Flint Hills assets.

Flint Hills anticipates finding the “highest and best” use of the refinery by the end of the year, Razook said.

“Throughout this process, our principle focus will remain on operating the FHR North Pole facility in a safe and environmentally responsible manner,” he said.

The North Pole refinery is the largest facility of its type in Alaska and it produces, among other things, large quantities of jet fuel from oil from the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. Jet fuel is transported by railroad from North Pole to Anchorage, to supply Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Flint Hills purchased the North Pole refinery from The Williams Cos. in 2003. The refinery is competitive because its location enables it to obtain crude oil at a discount to the West Coast price.

—Alan Bailey