1974 Press Photo Oil refinery ceremony held at Garyville, Louisiana - nob29461

Garyville, Louisiana - A $300 million petroleum refinery under construction here is "one of the first tangible signs" that Project Independence is off the ground, Federal Administrator John C. Sawhill said. Addressing a gathering of several hundred persons under the moss-draped oaks of San Francisco Plantation yesterday, Sawhill said more refineries are needed if the nation is to become self-sufficient in energy. The short-term solution to the energy shortage is to reduce demand, but the long-term answer is to expand refinery production and beef up exploration, he said. "We are already playing catch-up and cannot afford to fall any further behind," said Sawhill. Sawhill and state dignitaries were on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony for the refinery, being built on the San Francisco Plantation. The refinery, a project of the Energy Corporation of Louisiana Ltd. (ECOL), will have a refining capacity of 200,000 barrels per day and will be the largest independent refinery in the United States.

Photo is dated 1974.

Photo measures 10 x 8.25 inches.