Commerce City Refinery

The flames that are sometimes visible at the top of the refinery’s pipe stacks are an important, safe, and regulated part of the refining process. Simply put, flaring relieves pressure.

Flaring occurs when pressure from the refinery’s operations builds up and needs to be released, including during weather-related events, maintenance, or operational changes. There are also relief valves throughout the refinery that open and vent into the flare system if the pressure becomes too high to ensure that system safety is maintained.

Plant 1 Flare Reroute Construction Permit submitted 10/28/24

Steam is generated on-site through various operations and used throughout the refinery to keep processes warm and power equipment. At all times, the refinery maintains an excess supply of steam during normal operations to account for steam demand.

When more steam than is required has been produced, excess steam can be seen venting at various locations across the refinery. During cooler weather, condensed water vapor clouds from cooling towers can also be seen.

As part of our safety and emergency preparedness training, the Suncor Fire Department conducts fire training each year, typically in the summer and early fall.

This training happens at our fire training grounds and typically produces large flames and thick smoke. The refinery’s onsite fire department uses water for this type of training; firefighting foam is not used during these on-site training events. We notify the community and local government agencies in advance of the training.

Proactive measures to drive safe and environmentally sound operations at the refinery are ongoing, and it is normal to see cranes, scaffolding, or individuals working at tall heights.

Every two to three years, we will shut down portions of the refinery to conduct work that can only be executed while not in operation. These events, called turnarounds, take two to three years to plan and can bring hundreds of additional workers on site. We communicate about these planned maintenance activities before, during, and after each event.