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William S. Rheem (1862–1919), President of the Standard Oil Company of CA and a powerful local politician in the Richmond, CA, area, ordered construction of this large refining complex, taking the place of an earlier facility located in Alameda, CA. The site was selected because it was large and provided space for expansion. The Richmond facility became an important one for Standard of CA (later renamed Chevron Corporation), both for its processing and research capabilities. Laboratory space was first built here during World War I, and was responsible for several breakthroughs in removing lead from gasoline.

Chevron operated the largest refinery in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2007, covering 2,900 acres.

A pump fire occurred at this refinery 01/15/2007, injuring one employee. Officials in the area ordered nearby residents to stay indoors. A large fire due to a vapor leak in the Chevron Refinery's #4 Crude Unit began on 08/06/2012 at 6:15 pm, sending about 181 people to the hospital with eye and respiratory problems. Fire fighters contained the conflagration by the next morning. Between 2010-2012, refinery shutdowns caused by fires at three West Coast oil refineries helped drive up the cost of fuel to over $4.00 per gallon. A fire at Tesoro Corporation's March Point facility near Anacortes, WA, on 04/02/2012 killed 7 people and idled that plant for months. Another fire BP's Anacortes Cherry Point facility in 2012 caused a similar rise in prices, by depleting supply. According to an article in 2012, the West Coast used 963,000 barrels of oil per day. Chevron's Richmond facility could produce 150,000 gallons of fuel per day, about 15.6% of the total. When oil inventories were low, as they were in 08/2012, commodity market speculation on oil futures helped to boost prices markedly. (See "Experts: Richmond fire will boost gas prices," Monterey Herald,Accessed 08/09/2012.)

PCAD id: 9270