Five Phillips 66 refineries capture AFPM safety awards

Five Phillips 66 refineries have been honored by the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers for outstanding safety performance in 2022.

The Sweeny Refinery on the Texas Gulf Coast captured AFPM’s Distinguished Safety Award – the industry’s top safety honor – for a second consecutive year. Bayway Refinery in New Jersey, Borger Refinery in West Texas and the San Francisco Refinery’s Santa Maria Plant notched Elite Gold awards, and Ponca City Refinery in Oklahoma took home Elite Silver honors.

“Safety is at the core of everything we do at Phillips 66,” said Todd Denton, Phillips 66 Senior Vice President of Health, Safety and Environment and Field Operations Support. “Congratulations to our five safety award winners and their employees and contractors. The recognition by AFPM is a testament to their and the company’s steadfast commitment to the safety of our people and safe operation of our assets in our communities each and every day.”

Sweeny, which is located approximately 65 miles southwest of Houston, also garnered AFPM’s Innovation Award for the refinery’s Maintenance Area Safety Team’s work to design, test and commercialize the GrateIt No-Touch Hand Safety Tool, which helps users avoid hand- and ergonomics-related injuries.

The Distinguished Safety Award is presented to eligible U.S.-based sites that demonstrate exemplary, long-term safety performance, program innovation and leadership. The Elite Gold Award is AFPM’s second-highest safety honor, and it recognizes facilities with safety performance in the top 5 percentile. The Elite Silver Award recognizes facilities with safety performance in the top 10 percentile.

Sweeny was one of only three sites to earn a Distinguished Safety Award for 2022. Nearly 250 AFPM-member refining and petrochemical facilities were eligible to apply for the safety awards.

Chevron Phillips Chemical, the joint venture between Phillips 66 and Chevron, picked up Elite Gold awards for its Borger and Orange, Texas, sites, as well as Elite Silver honors for its Port Arthur, Texas, and Sweeny operations.

AFPM is a leading trade association for U.S. refiners and chemical manufacturers. The awards are part of a program developed by the AFPM Safety and Health Committee to promote safe operations in the refining and petrochemical industries. 

Sweeny’s award marks the seventh year in a row that a Phillips 66 refinery has captured the industry’s top honor.

“Earning the AFPM DSA is an outstanding feat for any facility; doing it for two years in a row is beyond remarkable,” Sweeny Refinery HSE Manager Ben Way said. “Our people should be enormously proud of this accomplishment and our commitment to safety. It’s a conscious decision our employees make every moment they spend time within our gates.”

Past Distinguished Safety Award winners from Phillips 66 also include Bayway (2019, 2017), Billings (2008), Borger (2019), Ferndale (2019), Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex (2020, 2019, 2016), Ponca City (2020, 2018) and Santa Maria (2020, 2019, 2011).