Fuels refinery
Marathon Catlettsburg Refinery
Marathon Petroleum Company LP · Marathon Petroleum Corporation · Catlettsburg, KY
PADD2 IRS refinery no. R-61-KY-0049
asphalt
ngl
propane
- bpd crude capacity · EIA 2026
- 307,000
- pipelines it injects into
- 1
- delivery points reachable
- 1
- terminals on those points
- 6
- terminals reachable by barge
- 36
- events on record
- 3
Capability
Crude distillation 307,000 bpd operable, 307,000 operating (EIA-820, as of 2026-01-01). Downstream units below, barrels per calendar day.
Conversion — makes gasoline and diesel from heavier oil
| Catalytic cracking (FCC) | 103,600 |
Upgrading
| Catalytic reforming — low pressure | 23,300 |
| Catalytic reforming — high pressure | 32,800 |
| Vacuum distillation | 134,000 sd |
Treating — meets sulfur specs
| Hydrotreating — diesel | 81,500 sd |
| Hydrotreating — kerosene & jet | 36,000 sd |
| Hydrotreating — naphtha / reformer feed | 61,000 sd |
| Hydrotreating — heavy gas oil | 107,000 sd |
Production capacity
Alkylates · 25,000
Aromatics · 2,500
Asphalt road oil · 35,400
Isomerization isopentane isohexane · 20,000
Sulfur short tons day · 438
Crude slate
Sweet and sour crude oils, including Utica Shale (Ohio) condensate and natural gasoline delivered by barge, plus pipeline crude via the Owensboro-area system.
Crude in & products out
| Direction | Mode | Route | Point / origin | Products | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| crude in | pipeline | Marathon Pipe Line Marathon Pipe Line describes a 24-inch pipeline from Owensboro, KY, built in 1973, as a primary crude supply system to the Catlettsburg refinery. More than 40 miles of the pipe have been replaced over the years because of integrity problems in rocky terrain. |
Owensboro, KY area system | crude | source |
| crude in | marine | Ohio River and Big Sandy River barge Oil & Gas Journal reported in 2015 that condensate for the refinery's condensate splitter is delivered by barge on the Ohio and Big Sandy rivers, and that the project included dock modifications for barge unloading at the refinery. An MPLX/MPC pipeline system in southeastern Ohio gathers Utica Shale crude, condensate and natural gasoline to a barge-loading facility on the Ohio River at Wellsville. |
Wellsville, OH barge-loading facility (Utica Shale condensate/natural gasoline) | crude | source |
| products out | pipeline | Marathon Pipe Line West Virginia's Title V fact sheet for the Kenova-TriState Terminal (R30-09900022-2020) says the terminal receives refined fuels, primarily gasoline and distillate, from the Catlettsburg refinery by pipeline. The fact sheet does not name the line or its owner. |
Refinery to the Kenova-TriState Terminal, Kenova, WV | gasoline distillate | inferred |
| products out | barge | Big Sandy River / Ohio River The refinery stands on the west bank of the Big Sandy River, two miles south of the Ohio River, and ships products by barge as well as pipeline. A contractor records a 2014 expansion and upgrade of Marathon's Catlettsburg, KY and Kenova, WV Ohio River dock facilities. |
Refinery site (western bank of the Big Sandy River, about 2 miles from the Ohio River) | gasoline distillate asphalt | source |
| products out | truck rack | MPLX Viney Branch (IRS terminal T-61-KY-3262) Kentucky's motor fuel terminal list (9-2-26) shows T61KY3262 as MPLX Viney Branch at Old St Rt 23, Catlettsburg. |
Old State Route 23, Catlettsburg, KY | gasoline distillate | source |
| products out | rail | Catlettsburg refinery rail Marathon's refinery page lists rail with pipelines, barges and trucks as the ways products are distributed. What moves by rail and the serving railroad are not established. |
Refinery site | source |
Docks
The docks at this facility and, where a ship agent or port publishes it, the largest vessel each berth takes. Channel conditions change; these figures are a guide, not clearance to sail.
Catlettsburg refinery barge dock (condensate unloading) · crude in
- Condensate is delivered to the refinery by barge on the Ohio and Big Sandy rivers.
- The 2015 condensate splitter project included dock modifications for barge unloading at the refinery.
- A contractor records a 2014 expansion and upgrade of Marathon's Catlettsburg, KY and Kenova, WV Ohio River dock facilities (https://cjmahan.com/project/project-marathon/).
- No vessel limits found. Which river the dock stands on is not established.
Source: Oil & Gas Journal, read 2026-10-11.
Pipeline reach
| Pipeline | Injects at | Delivery points | Terminals | Lowest ¢/bbl | Median ¢/bbl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon Pipe Line (MPLX) |
Kenova, WV (Catlettsburg refinery via MPC Kenova Terminal)
|
1 | 6 | Private line — no public tariff | |
By water
| Waterway | Terminals | Nearest mi | Farthest mi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio River | 36 | 32 | 340 |
All 36 barge-reachable terminals
| Terminal | Location | Supplied by barge on | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk Southern Railway Co End Terminal | Portsmouth, OH | Ohio River (Portsmouth, mile ~356) | 32 |
| Marathon Marietta | Marietta, OH | Ohio River (Marietta, mile ~172) | 96 |
| ST MARYS REFINING COMPANY | St. Mary's, WV | Ohio River | 102 |
| Kinder Morgan Liquids Terminals LLC | Cincinnati, OH | Ohio River | 115 |
| TransMontaigne - Greater Cinci | Covington, KY | Ohio River | 118 |
| Valvoline Cincinnati, Division Of Ashland Oil | Cincinnati, OH | Ohio River | 118 |
| Marathon Cincinnati | Cincinnati, OH | Ohio River | 119 |
| Marathon Petroleum Company LLC | Cincinnati, OH | Ohio River | 119 |
| Defense Fuel Support | Cincinnati, OH | Ohio River | 120 |
| Buckeye Terminals, LLC - Cincinnati | Cincinnati, OH | Ohio River | 121 |
| Kinder Morgan Energy Partners / River Transportation Company | Cincinnati, OH | Ohio River | 121 |
| UPS Fuel Farm Terminal | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 171 |
| Marathon Steubenville | Steubenville, OH | Ohio River (Steubenville, mile ~68) | 175 |
| Marathon Louisville | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 176 |
| TransMontaigne - Kentuckiana | New Albany, IN | Ohio River (New Albany / Louisville harbor) | 176 |
| Buckeye Terminals, LLC Louisville | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 176 |
| Valero Terminaling and Distribution | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 176 |
| TransMontaigne - Louisville | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 176 |
| Marathon Oil Louisville | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 177 |
| CITGO - Louisville | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 177 |
| Buckeye Terminals, LLC | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 178 |
| Thornton Oil Corporation - Louisville Terminal | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 180 |
| Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC | Louisville, KY | Ohio River | 180 |
| TransMontaigne - E Liverpool | East Liverpool, OH | Ohio River (upper Ohio, Pittsburgh-to-Wheeling reach) | 189 |
| Marathon Petroleum - Midland | Midland, PA | Ohio River (Midland) | 192 |
| Lucknow Highspire Terminal | Coraopolis, PA | Ohio River (Coraopolis/Neville Island) | 196 |
| Buckeye Terminals, LLC | Coraopolis, PA | Ohio River (Coraopolis/Neville Island) | 197 |
| Southern States Cooperative | Owensboro, KY | Ohio River | 246 |
| TransMontaigne - Owensboro | Owensboro, KY | Ohio River | 247 |
| TransMontaigne - Henderson | Henderson, KY | Ohio River | 273 |
| Marathon Evansville | Evansville, IN | Ohio River | 273 |
| TransMontaigne - Evansville | Evansville, IN | Ohio River | 274 |
| Omega Partners III, LLC | Henderson, KY | Ohio River | 279 |
| Marathon - Mount Vernon | Mount Vernon, IN | Ohio River (Mount Vernon, IN) | 290 |
| Countrymark Cooperative LLP - MT. VERNON | Mount Vernon, IN | Ohio River (Mount Vernon, IN — Southwind/CountryMark dock) | 290 |
| Marathon Paducah | Paducah, KY | Ohio River | 340 |
Substitutes
Other refineries injecting into the same pipelines — the supply that could backfill an outage here.
Marathon Pipe Line (MPLX)
- Marathon Petroleum CO LP · Galveston Bay, TX 631,000 bpd
- Marathon Petroleum CO LP · Garyville, LA 617,000 bpd
- Marathon Petroleum CO LP · Robinson, IL 253,000 bpd
- Valero Refining CO Texas LP · Texas City, TX 225,000 bpd
- Lima Refining Company · Lima, OH 183,000 bpd
- Pasadena Refining Systems INC · Pasadena, TX 118,750 bpd
- Marathon Petroleum CO LP · Canton, OH 100,000 bpd
Events
-
2026-02-10
outage
A third-party power interruption made flaring necessary and shut the refinery. Marathon did not say whether or when operations resumed. source
-
2015-08-02
fire
A power substation fire led Marathon to shut down all units. Restart was under way by 2015-08-10. source
-
2015-06
expansion
Marathon commissioned a 35,000 b/d condensate splitter at the refinery. The project included condensate storage tanks and dock modifications for barge unloading. source
Rates are pipeline line-haul transcribed from published FERC tariffs; every figure cites its tariff and item. Cost to serve (netback) adds origin spot price and destination fees. "Confirmed" links match a tariff delivery point to the facility; "same city" means the point is in the facility's city — plausible, not proof; "per research" means the facility's research profile names the pipeline as an outlet.