Home / United States / Oil refineries / Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery

Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery

Refinery in United States. Approximate location 39.80331, -104.9465.

RefineryUnited StatesCO₂ estimate (modelled)

Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery is a refinery in United States. Its listed capacity is 67,000 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 Suncor Energy Inc. By capacity it ranks #78 among 119 oil refineries in United States. It emits about 647,576 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 151k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 12% above the national median for this sector.

67,000BBL per day
647,576t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#199CO₂ rank in United States
9.67t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-1753347.

Data status

Known source data

FacilitySuncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryUnited States Climate TRACE
Coordinates39.80331, -104.9465 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity67,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorSuncor Energy Inc Climate TRACE
EPA parent companySUNCOR ENERGY (USA) INC US EPA GHGRP
EPA NAICS324110 US EPA GHGRP
TRI facility recordSUNCOR ENERGY COMMERCE CITY REFINERY US EPA TRI
TRI parent companySUNCOR ENERGY (USA) INC US EPA TRI
TRI NAICS324110 US EPA TRI
TRI reported chemicals1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, 1,3-Butadiene, Ammonia, Benzene, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Cobalt compounds… US EPA TRI
TRI on-site releases84,839 lb/yr US EPA TRI
Modelled CO₂e647,576 t/yr Climate TRACE
Measured CO₂ cross-check804,232 t/yr measured cross-check · GHGRP 2023

Calculated from the dataset

United States rank#199 of 1910 · top 10.4% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#392 of 630 · top 62.2% 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 67,000 BBL per day, Suncor Energy Commerce City West 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 647,576 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:

151kcars driven for a year
84khomes' annual energy use
11 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

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

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 648k t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), Suncor Energy Commerce City West 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 €48.8M/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 ≈13k t–32k t/yr, worth €976k€2.4M, 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).

Measured CO₂: 804k t/yr — verified GHGRP (reporting year 2023) (24% above the modelled estimate). Modelled estimate 648k t/yr (Climate TRACE), high-confidence match, cross-checked via the measured-vs-modelled dataset (n=711).

648k t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€48.8M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
13k t–32k t/yr ≈ €976k€2.4MDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: measured (GHGRP RY2023), cross-checked vs 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 Suncor Energy Inc. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate zone (Köppen BSk), at 39.8°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)
37/100environmental-severity index
23.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
1239 kmdistance to coast
LowCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1396 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.07× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1326 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 #78 largest of 119 oil refineries in United States by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 39.80331, -104.9465. 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 39,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 7,700 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 Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery?

Suncor Energy Commerce City West 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 Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery?

The open dataset lists 67,000 BBL per day of capacity for Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery.

How much CO₂ does Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery emit?

The page uses about 647,576 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #199 among facilities in United States by estimated CO₂.

Where is Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery located?

Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery is in United States at approximately 39.80331, -104.9465.

Who operates Suncor Energy Commerce City West Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is Suncor Energy Inc.

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