Key Points
- Several Marathon Petroleum refineries set themselves apart from industry peers at this year’s American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) Safety Awards.
- The Detroit, Michigan, refinery became a back-to-back winner of the Distinguished Safety Award, AFPM’s most prestigious honor.
- MPC refineries in Mandan, North Dakota, and St. Paul Park, Minnesota, received AFPM’s second highest award, while six other company facilities were also recognized for their safety performance in 2025.
The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) refers to winners of its Distinguished Safety Award (DSA) as the industry’s best of the best. For the third year in a row, Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is represented in this exclusive group. The company’s Detroit, Michigan, refinery received the DSA at this year’s AFPM Safety Awards for its 2025 performance.
“We encourage employees to challenge the status quo and ask, ‘Is there a better way?’, before beginning any task,” Detroit Personal Safety Manager Eric Sponaugle said. “Our focus on supporting frontline employees, from leadership being engaged at all levels to additional training for upskilling, promotes speaking up if something doesn’t feel right.”
“Experienced employees played a critical role in shaping new team members, fostering a sustainable safety culture rooted in ownership, accountability, and peer support.”
Detroit’s award was its second consecutive DSA, making it one of only seven back-to-back winners of AFPM’s highest honor in the last 35 years. The refinery was one of five winners from a pool of 11 DSA finalists that also included MPC’s refineries in Mandan, North Dakota, and St. Paul Park, Minnesota.
A selection committee examined the safety performance records of DSA finalists and interviewed site teams in person before choosing the winners. As finalists that were not selected, the Mandan and St. Paul Park refineries earned AFPM’s second highest honor, the Elite Platinum Award.
“This award created a strong sense of pride across the site and reinforces the behaviors that have driven our success,” said Mandan Personal Safety Manager Cullen Rosine. “It also motivates our team to stay focused on the daily commitment to safety that made it possible.”
The DSA recognizes a sustained, exemplary level of safety performance. Among other award criteria were no workplace-related fatalities for the previous five consecutive years; no days-away injuries associated with life-critical tasks in 2025; and no community evacuations or shelter-in-place events in 2025.
“This journey was defined by a strong emphasis on mentorship and intentional culture development,” St. Paul Park Personal Safety Manager Michael Roache said. “Experienced employees played a critical role in shaping new team members, fostering a sustainable safety culture rooted in ownership, accountability and peer support.”
MPC also received other AFPM accolades:
- Innovation Award Honorable Mentions – The Garyville, Louisiana, refinery was recognized for process safety innovations, and MPC Corporate Refining was acknowledged for industrial hygiene innovations.
- Safety Achievement Award for maintaining high safety standards – Recipients were MPC’s refineries in Anacortes, Washington; El Paso, Texas; Robinson, Illinois; and Salt Lake City, Utah; as well as the company’s renewable diesel facilities in Dickinson, North Dakota, and Martinez, California.
In the past three years, MPC has received 26 AFPM safety awards, including six DSAs. Last year, the Detroit, Kenai, Alaska, and El Paso refineries earned the DSA. Two years ago, the Canton, Ohio, and Robinson refineries received the honor.
