Two Refineries, One Strait: Crane Exam Prep in Martinez

Refinery conversions are crane projects

Turning a petroleum refinery into a renewable diesel plant is not just a change of feedstock. Marathon's board approved the conversion in 2021, and Neste agreed to invest about $1 billion for a half share of the joint venture. A conversion on that scale typically means new or rebuilt process equipment, tank changes and heavy equipment replacement, which bring large crawler cranes, long heavy-haul deliveries and lift plans reviewed by engineers.

At PBF's Martinez Refining Company, a dual-coking refinery, ongoing maintenance and periodic turnarounds bring the same kind of work in shorter bursts: exchanger bundle pulls, column internals, valve and pump swaps, and scaffold and material lifts into tight pipe racks.

Wind off the water

The Carquinez Strait is a natural wind tunnel between the bay and the Delta. Summer afternoons often bring a strong westerly that funnels through the strait and across the waterfront, the marina and the refinery tank farms. Large, flat loads such as tank roof sections, plate and panel bundles can turn into sails in those conditions.

Know the wind limits in your crane manual, measure at height where you can, and remember that a gust a few miles an hour above the forecast can change how a long load swings. Shoreline fill and marsh soils near the water add a ground-support question on top of the wind.

Fog is less of a factor than wind here, but winter tule fog drifting west from the Delta can still settle in on cold mornings and limit how far the operator can see.

Bridges, rail and the county seat

Interstate 680 crosses the strait on the Benicia-Martinez Bridge, and the Capitol Corridor and other Amtrak trains stop at the waterfront station. Maintenance on bridges, rail and the pipelines that link the refineries to wharves and tank farms is ongoing work that needs truck cranes and qualified riggers, often in narrow corridors beside live traffic or active tracks.

As the seat of Contra Costa County, Martinez also has county government buildings, courts and a regional medical center downtown. Rooftop equipment replacement and building upgrades in that compact core mean street closures, small swing radii and pedestrians close to the work, which calls for barricades and a signal person who can see both the load and the sidewalk.

Questions Martinez crews ask about certification

Does the state license me? No. California has no crane license card. Title 8 asks your employer to confirm you hold a current accredited certificate for the crane type you will run, and it treats signal person qualification separately. The California requirements guide has the specifics.

Which course first? Most refinery operators start with mobile crane operator. Riggers who build lift plans should look at Rigger Level II, and anyone on the radio during a blind pick should take signal person.