Marathon’s Detroit Refinery Hires Veteran Environmental Expert

Marathon Petroleum Company’s (MPC) Detroit refinery recently announced the hiring of Chris Abshire as its new Environmental Supervisor.

Abshire has extensive experience in environmental compliance, both in the petroleum industry and in government with West Virginia’s Office of Air Quality.

“When we were looking for the right candidate to fill this position, we knew that it had to be someone with a deep understanding of environmental regulations, and real experience and know-how to make sure those regulations are met.” said refinery general manager Dave Leaver. “We are excited to have someone with Chris’s skills so that we can operate in the cleanest way possible for the benefit of our team and our neighborhood in Detroit.”

Abshire began his career in the office of Air Quality at the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection, since then, he has worked to ensure environmental compliance in increasingly important roles at some of the largest companies in the petroleum industry in both environmental compliance and process engineering.

“I am passionate about my work because I understand the importance of ensuring operations are as clean as possible. It’s not just about the health and safety of the people that work at our facility, but also about the health and safety of our families, and especially our neighbors in Southwest Detroit,” said Abshire. “I look forward to putting my experience to work to help Marathon Detroit Refinery continue to make big strides when it comes to the environment.”

Marathon’s facility improvements have led to an 80 percent reduction in emissions over the last 20 years, including 10 percent in the past five years. Marathon is partnering with the Wildlife Habitat Council, an organization that focuses on helping to restore biodiversity to urban areas, for the restoration and sustainability of greenspace in 48217, specifically in the Oakwood Heights and Boynton neighborhoods. The development of these green spaces will create a buffer zone around industrial facilities and I-75 in the neighborhood to improve the environment and air quality in Southwest Detroit.

Abshire will be responsible for ensuring Marathon Detroit Refinery’s operations meet or surpass all federal, state, and local environmental regulations and for identifying ways to continually improve Marathon Detroit Refinery’s environmental performance.

Abshire received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the West Virginia University Institute of Technology. More information is available at www.marathonpetroleum.com.