Home / United States / Oil refineries / Marathon El Paso Refinery

Marathon El Paso Refinery

Refinery in United States. Approximate location 31.76751, -106.39561.

RefineryUnited StatesCO₂ estimate (modelled)

Marathon El Paso Refinery is a refinery in United States. Its listed capacity is 133,000 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 Marathon Petroleum Corp. By capacity it ranks #52 among 119 oil refineries in United States. It emits about 1,428,369 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 333k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 25% above the national median for this sector.

133,000BBL per day
1,428,369t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#92CO₂ rank in United States
10.74t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-1753318.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityMarathon El Paso Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryUnited States Climate TRACE
Coordinates31.76751, -106.39561 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity133,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorMarathon Petroleum Corp Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e1,428,369 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

United States rank#92 of 1910 · top 4.8% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#241 of 630 · top 38.3% 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 133,000 BBL per day, Marathon El Paso Refinery is well above 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 1,428,369 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:

333kcars driven for a year
186khomes' annual energy use
24 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

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

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 1.4M t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Marathon El Paso 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 €108M/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 ≈29k t–71k t/yr, worth €2.2M€5.4M, 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).

1.4M t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€108M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
29k t–71k t/yr ≈ €2.2M€5.4MDecarbonization 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 Marathon Petroleum Corp. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Marathon El Paso Refinery sits in a cold desert climate zone (Köppen BWk), at 31.8°N in the northern hemisphere.

~11°Ctypical annual mean
~26°Ctypical warm-season
Cold desert: hot summers and mild winters

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)
41/100environmental-severity index
22.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
625 kmdistance to coast
LowCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1328 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.02× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1262 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 #52 largest of 119 oil refineries in United States by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 31.76751, -106.39561. 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 49,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 9,800 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 Marathon El Paso Refinery?

Marathon El Paso 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 Marathon El Paso Refinery?

The open dataset lists 133,000 BBL per day of capacity for Marathon El Paso Refinery.

How much CO₂ does Marathon El Paso Refinery emit?

The page uses about 1,428,369 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #92 among facilities in United States by estimated CO₂.

Where is Marathon El Paso Refinery located?

Marathon El Paso Refinery is in United States at approximately 31.76751, -106.39561.

Who operates Marathon El Paso Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is Marathon Petroleum Corp.

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