About the Project

Marathon Petroleum Company LLC (MPC) and its wholly owned subsidiary Marathon Pipe Line LLC (MPL) have embarked on a $1.9 billion project that will help create jobs and a more stable supply of petroleum products for Michigan motorists. Before proceeding with this project, Marathon as a Responsible Care© company conducted a thorough analysis of its existing infrastructure, survey data, business fundamentals and other important criteria to help make an informed decision.

Known as the Detroit Heavy Oil Upgrade Project (Detroit HOUP), MPC will add new equipment at the Detroit refinery - Michigan's only refinery - to process the heavier, more viscous Canadian crude oil delivered by the pipeline. Once completed, the Detroit refinery will increase its capacity from approximately 102,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 115,000 bpd, an increase of more than 400,000 gallons of transportation fuels per day. Marathon also will add approximately 60 full time employees and 75 full time contractors.

Refinery construction began in June 2008 and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Marathon will also construct a new section of pipeline, approximately 29 miles long, in portions of Monroe and Wayne counties. This new section of pipeline will connect to Marathon’s existing crude oil pipeline to deliver additional supplies of Canadian crude to its Detroit refinery. Construction on the 29-mile segment of pipeline is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2009 with completion in 2010.

About Canadian Crude Oil
Canada’s Alberta Province, north of Montana, is the source of a plentiful crude oil supply. The reserves in Canada contain 179 billion barrels of crude oil, placing Canada second only to Saudi Arabia in total world oil reserves. Canadian crude oil consist of a mixture of sand, clay, water and a hydrocarbon called bitumen – a black, asphalt-like substance that is very thick and cannot be moved through pipeline in its virgin state. This bitumen is partially processed or combined with diluents, such as condensate or lighter crude oil, in Canada to enable it to be transported by pipeline.

The Canadian crude oil will flow from the Alberta Province to MPL’s Samaria station in Monroe County’s Bedford Township through a series of pipelines in the Mountain West and the upper Midwest regions of the U.S. The new section of Detroit HOUP pipeline will begin at the Samaria station and cross portions of Monroe and Wayne counties en route to the Detroit refinery.