Union County Crane and Rigging Certification for Refinery, Brine and Chemical Work

Inside the fence: refinery and chemical plant lifting

Delek US has owned the El Dorado refinery outright since October 2011, after buying a majority stake in Lion Oil earlier that year. Company filings have described it as an 80,000 barrel-per-day plant, and a 2014 revamp of its diesel hydrotreater shows the kind of unit work that goes on there. Refinery turnarounds bring in large crawler and hydraulic cranes for column and reactor work, bundle pulls, valve and piping changes, and structural repairs, often around the clock for weeks.

Bromine production began here in 1957, when Michigan Chemical (later Great Lakes Chemical) and Murphy Oil built the first plant in El Dorado. Lanxess, which bought Great Lakes' parent Chemtura in 2016, operates three Union County bromine facilities, and Albemarle runs satellite operations in the county alongside its Magnolia plant. Corrosive brine service means frequent equipment replacement and a lot of steady maintenance rigging.

Lithium from Smackover brine

Standard Lithium has piloted lithium extraction using tail brine, the debrominated brine left after bromine recovery at the Lanxess sites. Its South West Arkansas project, a partnership in which Equinor holds 45 percent, received a finalized $225 million Department of Energy grant, and partners had targeted a final investment decision by the end of 2025. That decision had not been announced as of September 2026, though the main construction contracts were awarded in May 2026 and offtake deals were signed with Trafigura and LG Energy Solution; reporting on the LG deal put first production by 2029 if the project is approved. Check current status before counting on a schedule.

If the commercial plant goes ahead, it would bring module sets, tank and vessel lifts and pipe rack erection, the same skills already used in the county's chemical plants.

Who regulates which site

Refineries, chemical plants and brine processing facilities are general industry and construction sites under federal OSHA, handled by the Little Rock Area Office; Arkansas has no State Plan. Brine wells and bromine plants are not mines, so MSHA does not cover them. When cranes are used in construction, including turnaround work that counts as construction, 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC applies: certified operators (1926.1427), qualified signal persons (1926.1428) and qualified riggers (1926.1425 and 1926.1404). There is no state crane license. More detail is in our Arkansas requirements guide.

On top of the federal rule, plant owners usually run their own contractor qualification programs, with lift plans, critical-lift reviews and documented credentials. Certification on paper makes it easier to get badged in.

Suggested training for plant crews

• Rigger Level 2: rigging plans, load weights and center of gravity for vessels and exchangers
• Mobile crane operator: hydraulic and lattice cranes on turnarounds and new units
• Signal person: radio and hand signals in congested process areas
• Service truck crane operator: pump, motor and valve swaps across brine fields

South Arkansas heat and timber country

Union County is pine woods and low, rolling ground near the Louisiana line. Summers are long and humid, which matters for crews wearing flame-resistant clothing on turnarounds, and heavy rains can leave lease roads and laydown yards soft. Spring storms and the occasional tornado also move through, so watch your wind limits and plan to lower booms early.

The NCCCO written exams can be taken by Online Proctored Testing, at a test center or at a scheduled event. Practical exams take place at accredited sites arranged through the certifying body. Shreveport is about two hours west and Little Rock about two hours north, which gives you options when practical events are listed. Your studying can happen in El Dorado at any hour, on a phone or a laptop.