While Suncor’s environmental and climate performance, progress, and future plans have been temporarily removed from our website, information about our Indigenous Relations and Community Investment is still accessible.
With three plants at two refineries, this facility processes approximately 98,000 barrels/day and contributes $2.5 billion USD to Colorado’s economy annually. We purchase crude oil from the Denver-Julesburg Basin, process it in Commerce City, and sell nearly 95% of our products within the state.
We developed an enhanced air monitoring program for the Commerce City and North Denver communities. Visit CCND-air.com to see air quality information in near real time and data reports.
Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. owns and operates the Commerce City Refinery. The refinery is comprised of three plants from two refineries, which Suncor acquired in 2003 and 2005. This is the only facility of its kind in Colorado and the largest in the Rocky Mountain Region, processing approximately 98,000 barrels per day which in turn provides fuel and petroleum products for Coloradans. For simplicity, we often refer to this facility as the refinery.
Our operations, products, workforce, and community initiatives are local. We purchase crude from the Denver-Julesburg Basin, process it in Commerce City, and sell nearly 95% of our products – including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and paving asphalt – within Colorado.
We are Colorado’s primary producer of paving-grade asphalt for roads and a major supplier of fuel to the state’s Western Slope via rail and truck. Our refinery is also a key supplier to the Denver International Airport, providing about a third of its jet fuel.
Refinery operations
The Commerce City Refinery operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Flaring, steam venting, and fire training are part of normal, day-to-day operations as well as maintenance activities.
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.
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.
Learn more about our new community air monitoring program, CCND Air Monitoring, developed in response to community feedback.
Community investment
Our 500+ Denver-based employees are a part of the community and we’re investing in programs that have a real local impact.
Suncor invests in our local communities by addressing community issues in ways that seek solutions and benefits for all. We show up in our community through the following:
Charitable donations: We contribute to charitable organizations and initiatives that align with our community investment funding priorities.
Sponsorship: We support non-profit and charitable activities and events that align with our community investment funding priorities and business interests through sponsorships and donations (including donations to organizations that do not have charitable status, but are conducting charitable initiatives), financial assistance, in-kind contributions, product donations, and event sponsorships.
SunCares employee program
Our employees are passionate about giving back to the communities where they live and work, and through this program, we reward volunteer efforts with monetary donations to the employee’s organization of choice.
SunCares enables our Colorado employees to log their volunteer hours and in 2020, we contributed more than 4,700 hours of volunteer time and supported 130 community organizations. We also offer a one-to-one match for personal donations made by employees, which in addition to corporate rewards, for their volunteer time, totaled over $90,000 USD in 2020.
Location 5801 Brighton Blvd Commerce City, CO 80022, USA View map
Commerce City FAQs
How does Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. ensure it is operating within regulatory limits?
We train our employees to meet permit conditions. We also continuously monitor our operations and emissions, and we report to the appropriate agencies if any issues arise.
What regulations or standards does the refinery follow?
The Commerce City Refinery is a regulated facility in the State of Colorado, and our environmental performance is closely monitored. Our complex operations are subject to dozens of statutes, hundreds of regulations, thousands of environmental limits, and oversight by multiple state and federal agencies.
If Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) is present near the refinery, does it pose a health risk?
The Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE) has modeled and monitored the air in neighborhoods around the refinery. Based on this modeling and monitoring, CDPHE “does not believe hydrogen cyanide is a health risk for people in the area.” Learn more from CDPHE.
What has Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. done to prepare for an emergency at the Commerce City Refinery?
The Commerce City Refinery has a fully trained on-site emergency response team. The team members regularly participate in exercises and drills to plan, prepare, and test emergency responses.