CENOVUS SAYS

SHAWNEE LIFE Lima Refinery celebrating 135 years

Cenovus Energy excited about next chapter

John D. Rockefeller didn’t hesitate when opportunity presented itself. When he learned of the oil reserves found in Lima, he jumped.

1910: John D. Rockefeller founded the refinery in 1886. This photo shows the refinery as it looked in 1910. Photo courtesy of the Allen County Historical Society.

Rockefeller sent three men to purchase land for a refinery. He paid James Hover $20,789 (about $600,000 in today’s dollars) for his 193 acres, then a bean field. Construction at the new site began September 12, 1886. The rest, as they say, is history.

Cenovus Lima Refinery is celebrating its 135th anniversary this fall. The actual anniversary occurred during our turnaround in 2021, a time when we focused on safely completing the major maintenance effort, so we postponed the celebration until this year. The occasion gives us a moment to reflect on the many years the Lima community has supported the refinery and express appreciation for the generations who have contributed to our longevity. Stay tuned for more about our celebrations.

Cenovus Energy has owned the Lima Refinery since 2021, when the company acquired Husky Energy, which had owned the refinery since 2007. Cenovus is a Canadian-based integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary. We’re committed to the safe, reliable, and responsible operation of the refinery. And we’re a committed community partner, making purposeful investments to strengthen the Lima area.

Today, Lima Refinery produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petrochemical feedstocks. We have a capacity of 175,000 barrels per day. A quarter of the gasoline consumed in Ohio comes from the Lima Refinery. We supply jet fuel to airports in Dayton, Columbus, and Pittsburgh, and the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, putting us in the U.S. defense supply chain. But in the early days of the refinery, gasoline was a waste product and discarded. Our first main product? Lamp oil. However, the crude from Lima’s oil field came with high sulfur content, giving the kerosene a terrible stench. No one wanted the lamp oil in their homes. With the price of his oil plummeting, Rockefeller was counseled to cut his losses and walk away. He did the opposite, hiring scientist Dr. Herman Frasch and purchasing his inventions that produced clear and clean-smelling lamp oil. Rockefeller’s investments and early gambles paid off and the refinery’s course was set.

Mitigating that sulfur, it turns out, was foreshadowing. In 2019, the refinery completed its Crude Oil Flexibility Project, which allows us to process more crude from Western Canada, which contains more … you guessed it, sulfur. Many of the improvements address removing sulfur. The project positioned the refinery for another generation of operation and supporting the Lima community.

1950s: The Lima Refinery, as seen in this undated photo from the 1950s. Photo courtesy of the Allen County Historical Society.

The Lima Refinery is a key part of Cenovus’s North American integrated energy strategy, especially with the ability to process more Western Canadian crude. We’re excited to write the refinery’s next chapter, together.

Editor’s note: Material sourced from Allen County Historical Society and booklet prepared for Lima Refinery 125th anniversary written by Thomas F. Stemen, who retired from the refinery.

Today, Cenovus Lima Refinery processes 175,000 barrels per day. Our main products are gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Colossal Canines

by Georgie Damschroder

We all know that some dogs can get very big; it shows even more when an excited (and huge!) pooch tries to clamber into your lap and pass as a Chihuahua. But exactly how big can these dogs get? Two breeds in particular, the Great Dane and the Bernese Mountain Dog, look like skyscrapers in comparison to just about anything. In fact, the tallest dog ever recorded was a Great Dane, by the very fitting name of Zeus, who stretched to be forty-six inches tall! For context, the average seven-year-old human is about that height. Bernese Mountain Dogs, though not quite as tall, are still certainly sights to behold. Weighing in at around 115 pounds they can also grow as tall as twenty-seven inches. It’s pretty clear that you wouldn’t want one of these curling up on your lap, or more accurately, your entire body!

Two of these mammoths live right in Indianbrook with the Truesdale family: five year-old Embyr-Lyn, the Great Dane, and two year-old Ashyr Blaze, the Bernedoodle (a cross between a Bernese Mountain Dog and a poodle). They were adopted when they were still puppies, and they were both named after firefighters.

Embyr is known for being very lazy, snuggling down in many pieces of furniture that her family has halfheartedly tried to keep her off of! She also enjoys the sun and will bask on the porch when the weather is just right. Embyr also despises any form of water, unless of course it’s in her bowl. This includes staying away from pools, rain, and snow at all costs, and getting very sassy if she is forced to engage with them! Embyr is also not a fan of any car rides. “Embyr refuses to sit or lay down, which makes transporting a 150-pound pup interesting!” says Mrs. Truesdale.

Ashyr, on the other hand, is the polar opposite of his sister. He adores rain and snow, and will often stay firmly outside in it, much to the dismay of his owners. Ashyr also does not like summertime, and much prefers his frosty forecast. He loves going for long rides in the doorless Jeep, kept in place only by his seat belt harness. A green ball and baby blankets are Ashyr’s prized possessions, and he refuses to leave the house without them.

Both dogs live with Todd and Amee Truesdale, along with two rescue cats, a bunny, and their three human siblings: Nick, Sydnee, and Joey. Todd has worked for thirty-five years as a fire chief at the Shawnee Township Fire Dept., and Amee works for the Institute of Orthopedic Surgery and recently transitioned into banking.

When the dogs are home alone, they certainly take advantage of it! They lounge on the furniture despite not usually being allowed on it and have fun counter-surfing and destroying much of what they can get their paws on! Embyr and Ashyr are also known for turning on the sink faucets themselves to get water when they’re home alone, all while their family watches them on their home cameras and try to stop them virtually!

The Truesdales love sitting outside when the weather turns nice with their pups; Embyr will lie in the sun next to them, while Ashyr will run repeatedly around the house like lightning with his iconic green ball in tow! Perhaps the reason these breeds are so large is because they are so full of extra love!