One Refinery, $400M, and a 50-Year Trend Reversed

Green Fuels Operating broke ground on a $400M Duncan, Oklahoma refinery targeting 30,000 bpd capacity and up to 80 permanent jobs

15 Jun 2026

Green Fuels Operating broke ground on 29 May on a $400m refinery in Duncan, Oklahoma, the company's first facility and one of the few new domestic refining projects in the United States in decades. Built on a certified brownfield site, the plant is designed for an initial throughput of 30,000 barrels per day, with room to expand to 50,000 bpd.

The project will create between 75 and 80 permanent jobs locally. State officials have welcomed the investment as a boost to Oklahoma's energy workforce and a signal of renewed private confidence in domestic refining infrastructure.

"America has spent 50 years losing refineries," said Derek Williamson, chief executive of Green Fuels Operating. "We made a decision: we're going to change that story."

Sited on previously industrial land, the development avoids the regulatory and environmental complications typically associated with greenfield construction. The company says the plant will deploy low-emission technology, though no specific certification standard or emissions benchmark was disclosed at the time of the groundbreaking.

Construction is expected to proceed in phases through 2027. For businesses across the downstream supply chain, a new regional refinery could reduce dependence on ageing infrastructure and constrained import logistics. Consumers in surrounding states may also benefit from improved fuel supply stability.

Whether the Duncan facility becomes a template for broader refinery revival depends on how the project performs against its cost and production targets over the next several years.