Tesoro working on Kenai refinery

Tesoro Corp. increased its throughput in Alaska in the first quarter, but could see declines in the second quarter as it begins planned maintenance at its Kenai oil refinery.

The refiner handled 155,000 barrels per day from its northwest operations in Alaska and Washington in the first three months of the year, up from 135,000 bpd in the first quarter of 2011. The unit reported a gross refining margin of $183 million ($12.96 per barrel) in the first quarter, up from $163 million ($13.39 per barrel) in the first quarter of last year.

Manufacturing costs fell to $3.83 per barrel from $4.08 per barrel year over year.

Tesoro is planning a turnaround at its Kenai facility in the second quarter. That work began early in May and could last as long as two weeks, according to Bloomberg News.

In addition to refining oil in Alaska, Tesoro uses Alaska North Slope crude oil at its refineries in Martinez, Calif., and Anacortes, Wash. Tesoro also operates 29 fueling stations in Alaska and sells gasoline to 47 third-party fueling stations across the state.

—Eric Lidji