Energy efficiency advances sustainability at Phillips 66

Small gains, big impact

At Phillips 66, energy efficiency reflects a broader sustainability approach embedded in its operational goals.

Why it matters

Small, everyday improvements can add up to meaningful progress. Across the company, teams are finding ways to use energy more efficiently while supporting performance, reducing waste and strengthening the business over time. Here's how one Phillips 66 refinery's collective efforts earned U.S. government recognition.

Ponca City earns ENERGY STAR® certification

Phillips 66's Ponca City Refinery has earned its first ENERGY STAR® certification, marking a milestone in the site's long history of operational excellence.

What it takes

This certification is earned by only a small number of refineries. In 2025, just 13 petroleum refineries were certified by ENERGY STAR®. To earn the designation, a refinery must perform in the top quartile of its peer group in energy intensity, based on benchmarking validated by Solomon Associates, as well as an environmental screening for compliance with the U.S. EPA's Clean Air Act.

For American consumers, the ENERGY STAR® label is a familiar sign on household products that use energy wisely. At Phillips 66, it reflects our commitment to operating reliably and efficiently.

Behind the distinction

"Energy efficiency is one of the most practical ways to lower GHG emissions intensity from our operations and generate cost savings," said Jessica Roman, chief sustainability officer, Phillips 66. "Ponca City's accomplishment shows how consistent, everyday improvements can add up to real progress toward our GHG emissions intensity reduction targets and strategic priorities."

Blake Brackmann, an engineer at the Ponca City Refinery, says that the pursuit of the certification was an accumulation of small changes - such as optimizing furnace heater excess oxygen, identifying and mitigating steam losses and optimizing steam usage - all of which compounded into meaningful results.

"Driving cost savings through energy efficiency has been a key part of our continuous improvement efforts, and our team embraced that focus and kept pushing ourselves to the next level," Brackmann said. "By keeping energy efficiency front and center every day, our team of operators, engineers and others across the site were aligned on goals that were actionable and achievable."

Recognition across Phillips 66

Since 2006, several additional Phillips 66 refineries have been honored with an ENERGY STAR® certification, including seven honors for Ferndale, five for Billings, three for Sweeny, two for Bayway and one for San Francisco (now the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex) and Lake Charles.

Enterprisewide dashboard helps sustain progress

"A key factor in sustaining progress was building a custom dashboard that tracks key energy variables across the refinery," Brackmann said. "It helped us look beyond the obvious sources of energy use and focus on some of the more obscure opportunities."

The dashboard not only identifies less-visible sources of energy savings but also sustains key energy variable targets such as excess oxygen on furnace heaters. By monitoring daily, the equipment is tuned consistently into an optimal range, reducing energy consumption while improving overall performance.

With the leadership of Steve Hyde, director, energy and relief systems, the dashboard Brackmann developed is now used across the company, helping sites identify energy efficiency and cost-saving opportunities. Instrumental in advancing energy efficiency at Phillips 66, Hyde helped scale the initiative through the Energy Network, driving cross-site learning and broader adoption of improvements across the system.

Brackmann concluded, "We aim to produce refining products as efficiently as we can, and the ENERGY STAR® certification is a powerful recognition of our efforts. It also reflects our commitment to using energy more efficiently every day, which can lower GHG emissions intensity, improve reliability and create long-term value."

Milestones and data-driven solutions like these demonstrate how expertise, innovation and collaboration come together to drive long-term value and help support a more sustainable future.

Learn more about how Phillips 66 is advancing sustainability, improving reliability and creating long-term value across its operations.

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