DUNCAN – A groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate redevelopment of the Stephens County Refinery site will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, May 29, at the refinery site located approximately half a mile east of the intersection of Old Highway 81 and Refinery Road in Duncan.
The groundbreaking marks the beginning of a new era for the Stephens County Refinery Property — a site with deep roots in the region’s industrial heritage. The ceremony will be conducted on behalf of Green Fuels Operating, the company leading redevelopment of the property, “signaling the start of a transformational investment in Stephens County,” said Lyle Roggow, president and CEO of the Duncan Area Economic Development Foundation.
The former Sunray Corp.
/ Sun Oil Co. / Tosco Corp. refinery was once a cornerstone of the local economy, operating as an aviation fuel producer from the 1920s until 1947 and as a general oil refinery through 1983, at one point employing as many as 400 workers. After the facility’s closure, the site underwent extensive environmental remediation overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, and ConocoPhillips Corp. The ODEQ has since certified the property for brownfield redevelopment, paving the way for this new chapter.
In February, the DAEDF entered into a management agreement with Stephens County to promote and facilitate economic development at the Stephens County Refinery Property. As the successor to the Duncan Industrial Foundation and the region’s lead economic development organization since 1954, DAEDF has been actively recruiting businesses and coordinating development efforts at the site. The partnership with Green Fuels Operating represents the first major fruit of those efforts.
“This groundbreaking is a proud moment for Duncan and Stephens County,” Roggow said. “For decades, this property was a major employer and economic driver for our community. Thanks to the work of our county partners and state regulators, and to the vision of Green Fuels Operating, we are finally seeing this iconic site return to productive use. We look forward to the jobs, investment, and opportunity this redevelopment will bring to Stephens County families for generations to come.”
“We are honored to break ground on this project and to invest in the future of Duncan and Stephens County,” said Derek Williamson, CEO of Green Fuels Operating.
“This site has a proud industrial legacy, and it is our goal to build on that legacy by bringing clean fuels production, quality jobs, and long-term economic benefit back to this community. We are grateful for the partnership of DAEDF and the Stephens County Commissioners, and we look forward to growing alongside this region.” The community is invited to join Green Fuels Operating, the Stephens County Commissioners, and the DAEDF as they turn the first shovel of dirt on a potentially landmark economic development project for the region. The DAEDF has led economic development efforts in Stephens County since 1954. As the successor to the Duncan Industrial Foundation, DAEDF works to recruit new businesses, support existing employers, and create quality jobs for area residents. DAEDF manages the Stephens County Refinery Property under an agreement with Stephens County Commissioners to position the site for new industrial investment. Green Fuels Operating deploys and operates advanced, patented hydrocarbon processing technology across a growing portfolio of modern refining projects. Through its systems, GFO produces high-margin products such as asphalt, naphtha, kerosene, diesel, gasoline, and aviation fuel using more efficient and optimized processing methods.