Newcastle Heater Response Site

Update on Power Interruption Investigation from February 12, 2025

Newcastle’s Wyoming Refinery has worked closely with its utility partners to investigate and determine possible connections between the February 12 crude heater incident and the momentary power outage that occurred that evening.  While the investigation is inconclusive, Wyoming Refinery has determined the momentary power outage was not a direct result of the refinery incident.

Wyoming Refinery remains committed to providing updates as we continue to work to repair and restart the facility.  Our progress remains on schedule, and we plan to restart the refinery as soon as safely possible once repairs are completed.  We appreciate the continued patience of our customers and the community of Weston County during this effort.

Newcastle Refinery Returns to Production

Wyoming Refining Company (WRC) has resumed fuel production following an operational upset on February 12th, 2025. The refinery remained safely idled as the local WRC team, supported by skilled consultants and contractors, completed repairs to the facility including replacement of the primary crude heater. This work was completed safely and ahead of initial schedule forecast, supporting reliable fuel supply to our customers and communities. We appreciate the support from the Newcastle community throughout the recovery period and thank our employees for their dedication and commitment.

Wednesday April 16 Update (possible flaring)

Wyoming Refining Company (WRC) anticipates potential periods of flare activity during the coming week.  While this is routine and permitted activity, this notice is to help prepare the community in advance during this time of heightened awareness and interest.  Flaring is occasionally necessary when the refinery is performing startup and shutdown operations.  Again, this flaring may be visible throughout the coming week and near the expected full restart at the end of April.  We appreciate the community’s understanding and continued support as begin to restart refinery operations.
For further information on flaring, please refer to the fact sheet on refinery flaring under the “fact sheets” menu.

Monday April 14 Update

Changing skyline of Newcastle

The large crane that has dominated the skyline is disassembled and being prepared for demobilization.  The twin, black stacks of the heaters are both in place.

Work has progressed well since our last update.  The newly fabricated crude heater modules arrived on schedule and were quickly lifted into place.  Assembly of the new heater continues ahead of schedule.  The repaired heater is mechanically complete and ready for start-up.  We anticipate a partial restart in a couple of days once all the pre-startup safety procedures are completed.  Full startup is anticipated around May 1st.

The team at Newcastle has been consistently executing the plan ahead of schedule.  Despite many added man hours, 24-hour operations, and some challenging weather our employees and contractors have completed the work without a single injury.

Monday March 30 Update

Monday March 30 Update

Progress continues for the Newcastle Refinery.  The huge transport deliveries of the new crude heater components are arriving.  The initial components arrived this morning and can be seen staged along the Main Street lot.  Next steps include the placement and assembly of the crude heater components.  We continue to remain on schedule.

Photos are posted under the “photos” header.

Sunday March 23 Update

Heater repair work continues at Newcastle Refinery.  Noticeable progress can be seen in the replacement of the outer shell of the heater and the stack.  Work on the repair now shifts to completion of the internal heater components. This project remains on schedule for the anticipated partial restart of the facility in mid-April.

The new heater fabrication is progressing well as reported previously.  The large, oversized shipments of heater modules are scheduled to begin arriving in Newcastle between March 26 and March 31.  This activity is being coordinated with Newcastle Police and Weston County Sheriff to minimize traffic disruption due to the oversized load staging and delivery on Main Street.

Our focus on safety continues to drive all that we do.  Higher winds this weekend and early next week are being closely monitored due to blowing dust and potential impact to crane operations.  The project remains injury free to date.