Journal Record: Oklahoma's First Near-Net-Zero Oil Refinery Under Construction in Duncan

$400 Million Refinery Breaks Ground in Duncan, Oklahoma, Marking First Major New U.S. Refining Investment in Decades

Originally published by the Journal Record on June 4, 2026.

Original source: https://journalrecord.com/2026/06/04/green-fuels-operating-builds-near-net-zero-refinery-duncan/

Editor's Note: The following article was originally published by the Journal Record and is reposted here for informational purposes. All rights belong to the original publisher. Readers are encouraged to visit the Journal Record website to read the original article.

DUNCAN — All four active Oklahoma oil refineries are more than 100 years old, built long before the EPA drafted its first environmental codes. However, one cleaner-fuel company is about to change that.

In Duncan, construction began this week on a $400 million near-net-zero oil refinery built on the bones of a polluted, century-old site.

In 1983, when Tosco Corporation closed the doors on the former Sunray Oil complex, the old refinery was left to rot. The county took ownership of the site in 2004. After decades of environmental investigations and a state-required cleanup by ConocoPhillips, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality certified the brownfield for redevelopment.

That certification allows Edmond-based Green Fuels Operating to open the state’s first near-net-zero refinery, bringing a $400 million investment and over 100 jobs to the western part of the state.

“What we have strived to do is bring these markets back to these small towns,” Derek Williamson, CEO of Green Fuels Operating, said. “That’s why we’re building in Duncan.”

Since 1977, the number of operating U.S. refineries has plummeted from 255 to 124, according to project data, with the majority of surviving plants built before the Second World War.

Oklahoma is the same. The most recent closure was of the newest operating facility at the time. The facility, built in 1982 in Thomas, Oklahoma, was operated by Ventura Refining before it closed just two years after opening. The facility reopened in the 2000s but permanently shut down in 2014.

The next-newest oil refinery in Oklahoma is situated in Wynnewood, built in 1923. As construction progresses on the Green Fuels site, company leaders predict an economic boost for the area as well as a regional monopoly.

“We will be the only refinery in southwest Oklahoma, or western Oklahoma for that matter,” Williamson said.

Closed-loop system

The new facility achieves its near-net-zero footprint through a proprietary closed-loop system, he said. The process traps and recycles gases before they touch the atmosphere. Similar protections and standards are in place for the groundwater, Williamson said.

Instead of venting carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and sulfur oxides into the air, the refinery compresses the pollutants into stable, industrial-grade powders.

“There are no noxious gases to escape our process because we use a proprietary gas loop system that recirculates all of that negative noxious gas,” Williamson says. “We capture our CO2, and we basically turn it into a powder form of CO2, basically industrial-grade baking powder.”

Efficiency also comes down to temperature.

Traditional refineries heat crude oil to temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, a slow and energy-intensive method. Green Fuels uses a vacuum atomization technique that constantly moves the molecules, heating the oil evenly at 550 degrees. The vacuum process also uses 60% less energy.

The plant will pull most of its feedstock crude oil from Stephens County, starting at 30,000 barrels per day with plans to scale up to 50,000. Williamson said having the supply so close will make it cheaper for the Duncan producers to operate.

“One thing people don’t realize when you take refining out of where the production is, it just adds to the cost of the fuel,” Williamson says. “You’re having to transport that product to get it refined somewhere else.”

The Duncan facility will run around the clock, creating 85 to 90 permanent specialized jobs along with 50 jobs at a planned asphalt terminal.

“We are a lot smaller (than traditional refineries),” Williamson said. “We are a lot more efficient; we’re a lot more refined, no pun intended.”

Tags: refining, Sunray Oil, Oklahoma energy, crude oil, brownfield redevelopment, Duncan, energy industry, Stephens County, Economic Development, ConocoPhillips