Wood River Refinery History Museum

06/16/2026

Bill Davis obituary -

William “Bill” A. Davis, 78, of Brighton, died on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at home.

He was born on August 25, 1947, in Alton, the son of the late David and Eileen (Eddington) Davis.

On March 12, 1966, he married Mary Jane Christopher. She preceded him in death on December 10, 2020.

Together they had five children, Chris (Jackie) Davis of Clayton, IL, Richard (Linon) Davis of Shipman, IL, Billy (Michelle) Davis of Shipman, IL, Scott (Johnell) Davis of Alton, IL, and Jeff (Lacey) Davis of Brighton, IL; twelve grandchildren; seven great grandchildren, sisters, Ramona (Craig) Lush and Cindy (Jim) Moscardelli; brothers, Bob (Joyce) Davis and Danny (Kelly) Davis.

He was preceded in death by his parents and wife.

Bill retired from Shell Oil Refinery as a supervisor. He enjoyed riding in his Gator, sitting on the porch, tractors, and shooting target practice.

06/03/2026

Spring 1976 - 50 years ago: the former Anlin Company sulfur recovery and sulfuric acid units became part of Wood River Refinery (this occurred in April 1976 but the article is from the June 1976 Wood River Review). The high maintenance sulfuric acid unit was shut down and demolished after only a few years, but the sulfur recovery units (A, C, & D trains) supported the Shell, Amoco, and Clark refineries for many years - and continue to operate for WRR.

The article mentions "tons per day of sulfur." Sulfur is a commodity that is measured in long tons, which equal 2,240 pounds. As clean fuels standards have increased, so has the amount of sulfur extracted by multiple refinery units, and WRR recovers several hundred long tons of sulfur daily.

Two new sulfur recovery units (E & F trains) were built as part of the CORE project, because of the higher sulfur content of Canadian oil sands crude oil.

05/27/2026

May 1956 - 70 years ago: while large projects at Wood River Refinery receive a lot of attention, just as important are the many activities that keep WRR's process units running safely and reliably. The May Shell Review highlighted one such activity involving a troublesome heat exchanger in a difficult service.

05/17/2026

May 1976 - 50 years ago: the Wood River Review highlighted the Utilities Department, which, although not processing crude or making refined products, is nonetheless critical to WRR's operation. This was true from the earliest days of the refinery to the current day. Utilities produces steam that is used for heating & powerful turbines and compressed air for hundreds of valves & certain instruments. The Utilities Control Center (UCC) was the first refinery unit to be upgraded to microprocessor controls.

05/13/2026

05/06/2026

May 1986 - 40 years ago: the Wood River Review highlighted the Dispatching Department, whose employees oversee the shipment of products from Wood River Refinery. Then, as now, the majority of products (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) are shipped via pipelines (which we highlighted in a posting last year). Some products, such as asphalt, are shipped via Mississippi River barges. Propane is shipped via tank cars and tank trucks.

05/02/2026

A homework assignment: the Museum wants to preserve all aspects of WRR's history, including recognizing the many employees who contributed over the years. Unfortunately, the Museum has too many photos without captions, such as this one. Was it one of the many communications workshops held for supervisors? Where was it taken? Who are the attendees? If you can help, please comment below.

For example, front row, second from left is Henry Ugo, Utilities Dept.

04/21/2026

April 1946 - 80 years ago: the Shell review highlighted the very important role Shell - in particular Wood River Refinery - played in producing 100 octane aviation gasoline during World War II. The article refers to the publication "Shell-Soldier and Civilian," which was distributed to employees. (Not sure if the museum has a copy of this publication; we'll have to search our archives.)

Note how the graph shows the price of 100 octane avgas decreasing from almost $2.50 per gallon in 1934 to a little less than 15 cents per gallon during WWII. This was due to advances in refining processes, especially alkylation. But keep in mind two things:

1) those prices don't include taxes, and

2) adjusting for inflation, the 1934 price equates to ~$60 today while the WWII price equates to ~$3.

04/10/2026

April 1986 - 40 years ago: the Wood River Review highlighted Wood River Refinery's Maintenance Department. Obviously, outstanding maintenance is critical to keeping a facility as large and complex as WRR running reliably, and many specialized and talented craftsmen are involved to successfully provide it.

04/05/2026

April 1956 - 70 years ago: for a long time one of the popular annual activities Wood River Refinery has sponsored for employees' families is an Easter Egg Hunt. For how long a time? Well, the April 1956 Shell Review includes some scenes of an Easter Egg Hunt, and that was 70 years ago. Happy Easter everyone!