Home / United States / Oil refineries / Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery

Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery

Refinery in United States. Approximate location 35.29472, -118.91795.

RefineryUnited StatesCO₂ estimate (modelled)

Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery is a refinery in United States. Its listed capacity is 26,000 BBL per day. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by Kern Oil & Refining Co. By capacity it ranks #100 among 119 oil refineries in United States. It emits about 180,369 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 42k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 19% below the national median for this sector.

26,000BBL per day
180,369t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#462CO₂ rank in United States
6.94t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-1753368.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityKern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryUnited States Climate TRACE
Coordinates35.29472, -118.91795 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity26,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorKern Oil & Refining Co Climate TRACE
EPA parent companyCASEY CO US EPA GHGRP
EPA NAICS324110 US EPA GHGRP
TRI facility recordKERN ENERGY US EPA TRI
TRI parent companyCASEY CO US EPA TRI
TRI NAICS324110 US EPA TRI
TRI reported chemicals1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Benzene, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Certain glycol ethers, Cumene, Cyclohexane… US EPA TRI
TRI on-site releases4,817 lb/yr US EPA TRI
Modelled CO₂e180,369 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

United States rank#462 of 1910 · top 24.2% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#516 of 630 · top 81.9% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Similar facilities by modelled emissions

Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.

Operating power plants within 50 km

PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.

In context: how this facility compares

At 26,000 BBL per day, Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery is below the median refinery in United States (89,200 BBL per day). Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 180,369 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

42kcars driven for a year
24khomes' annual energy use
3.0 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 180k t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery carries no domestic carbon price; refinerys are not a CBAM-covered good, so there is no border-carbon liability. At the EU ETS reference price (€75/t) the emissions carry an indicative carbon value of €13.6M/yr. The fastest decarbonization lever is energy efficiency: eliminating heat loss on hot equipment (removable insulation, steam & waste-heat recovery) typically cuts 2–5% of fuel-related CO₂ — here ≈4k t–9k t/yr, worth €272k€680k, with payback up to 2 years. No domestic carbon price — but cement, steel, aluminium, fertilizer and hydrogen exported to the EU face CBAM at €75/t (rising to 100% by 2034).

180k t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€13.6M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
4k t–9k t/yr ≈ €272k€680kDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: Climate TRACE. Efficiency range: US DOE / ASTM C680 (method). Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice. Estimate the saving for this site →

Capacity vs largest oil refineries in United States

Motiva Port Arthur Refinery: 640,500 BBL per day640kMotiva Por…Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery: 633,000 BBL per day633kMarathon G…Exxonmobil Beaumont Refinery: 612,000 BBL per day612kExxonmobil…Marathon Garyville Refinery: 606,000 BBL per day606kMarathon G…Exxonmobil Baytown Refinery: 564,440 BBL per day564kExxonmobil…Exxonmobil Baton Rouge Refinery: 522,500 BBL per day522kExxonmobil…Citgo Lake Charles Refinery: 459,800 BBL per day460kCitgo Lake…BP Whiting Refinery: 435,000 BBL per day435kBP Whiting…

Listed capacity (BBL per day), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Kern Oil & Refining Co.

Local climate

Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate zone (Köppen BSk), at 35.3°N in the northern hemisphere.

~10°Ctypical annual mean
~23°Ctypical warm-season
Cold semi-arid steppe: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
40/100environmental-severity index
19.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
117 kmdistance to coast
LowCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1327 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.02× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1261 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #100 largest of 119 oil refineries in United States by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 35.29472, -118.91795. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 32,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 6,400 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

United States: funding & obligation

Funding. Investment tax credit up to 30% of qualified investment incl. industrial decarbonization; open to small/medium/large manufacturers. official source · verified 2026
Status: ~$6B of $10B allocated Jan-2025; remaining capacity + IRA status under political review — verify before 'apply now'.

Obligation. None at federal level (voluntary). Some states have their own programs. (applies as a rule above the stated threshold — we do not hold this site's metered energy use). · verified 2026

Programme terms verified 2026-06-18; confirm the current open phase before applying. Eligibility depends on a site's energy use / headcount, which we do not hold — not a per-facility eligibility determination.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery?

Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery is a refinery in United States. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

What capacity is listed for Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery?

The open dataset lists 26,000 BBL per day of capacity for Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery.

How much CO₂ does Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery emit?

The page uses about 180,369 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #462 among facilities in United States by estimated CO₂.

Where is Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery located?

Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery is in United States at approximately 35.29472, -118.91795.

Who operates Kern Oil & Refining Bakersfield Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is Kern Oil & Refining Co.

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