Chevron Refinery celebrates 55 years in Jackson County with Community Day

PASCAGOULA, MS (WLOX) - For more than five decades, the Chevron Refinery in Pascagoula has been employing residents of South Mississippi. To celebrate its 55 years in Jackson County, the refinery welcomed in employees, retirees and their families for a unique tour Saturday.

“We’re celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Pascagoula refinery,” said Communications Specialist Allison Cook. “So in honor of that and in recognition, we’re opening the doors. We’re hosting tours for several hundred people of the refinery.”

Along with the tour, there were several exhibits set up for guests of all ages.

“We’ve got Sparky the fire dog, which does a lot of outreach in the community with schools and churches,” Cook said. “He talks about fire safety, so the children have really enjoyed that.”

There was also a 3-D printer on display and a video room telling the story of the Pascagoula refinery.

Among those on the tour was David Young. Young was one of the original Chevron Refinery employees. To him, the changes at the facility are a lot to process.

“Originally, I think we had maintenance, and operations had a crew of, between the both of them, about 300 men when we first started,” Young said. “Now I think they’re up to 1,600.”

He sees the benefit to having the refinery in Pascagoula for all these years.

"It's just, it's been tremendous for a lot of people to work here," Young said.

For current employees like Kathy Dahl, the chance to show their families what they do every day was a great experience.

“It’s a great opportunity today to bring family into the refinery because it’s not every day that people from outside of our operations are invited to come in," Dahl said. "It’s a unique opportunity to see this type of processing facility.”

Cook and other refinery officials are ready for another 55 years in the Jackson County community.

“We’re really proud to be a community partner,” Cook said. “We’re proud of our history of operating safely and reliably.”

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