NDT Consulting in Martinez, CA — Petroleum refining, Renewable diesel production
Martinez runs two very different plants on the Carquinez Strait. PBF's Martinez Refining Company occupies an 860-acre site, a high-conversion dual-coking refinery among the most complex in the United States, with roughly 8.8 million barrels of crude and product shell capacity and its own deep-water marine facility. A few miles east, Marathon converted the former Golden Eagle refinery into Martinez Renewable Fuels, now producing 730 million gallons a year of renewable diesel from animal fat, soybean oil and corn oil and cutting site manufacturing greenhouse gases about 60%. Marathon's Avon and Amorco terminals handle roughly 160 ships a year, and Contra Costa County's Industrial Safety Ordinance governs both plants.
Martinez runs two very different plants on the Carquinez Strait. PBF's Martinez Refining Company occupies an 860-acre site, a high-conversion dual-coking refinery among the most complex in the United States, with roughly 8.8 million barrels of crude and product shell capacity and its own deep-water marine facility. Inspection work here is audited against Cal/OSHA Process Safety Management for Refineries (8 CCR §5189.
A few miles east, Marathon converted the former Golden Eagle refinery into Martinez Renewable Fuels, now producing 730 million gallons a year of renewable diesel from animal fat, soybean oil and corn oil and cutting site manufacturing greenhouse gases about 60%. Marathon's Avon and Amorco terminals handle roughly 160 ships a year, and Contra Costa County's Industrial Safety Ordinance governs both plants. Inspection demand is driven by operators including Martinez Refining Company (PBF Energy), Marathon Martinez Renewable Fuels, Amorco Marine Terminal (Marathon), Avon Marine Terminal (Marathon), whose contracts set the qualification bar their supply chain has to meet. An outsourced ASNT Level III covers the signing authority a firm needs without carrying the role on staff — written practice, procedure approval, examination oversight and audit attendance.
Source: ASNT SNT-TC-1A employer certification framework; per-city industrial and compliance research file
| Factor | This market | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Sectors driving demand | Petroleum refining, Renewable diesel production, Deep-water marine terminals, Bulk liquid storage, Crude and product pipeline logistics | Determines which methods and which code regime a firm must qualify to |
| Operators setting the bar | Martinez Refining Company (PBF Energy), Marathon Martinez Renewable Fuels, Amorco Marine Terminal (Marathon), Avon Marine Terminal (Marathon) | Their approved-supplier requirements flow down to every contractor bidding |
| Codes named in local contracts | Cal/OSHA Process Safety Management for Refineries (8 CCR §5189.1), Contra Costa County Industrial Safety Ordinance, API 510 / 570 / 653, NBIC NB-23, ASME Section VIII Div 1 and B31.3, 33 CFR 154 marine transfer operations | Each requires a documented written practice and a Level III to approve it |
| What the Level III signs | Written practice · procedure approval · examination oversight · personnel certification | These four signatures are what an auditor asks to see first |
| Engagement shape | Retained cover · project cover · interim cover before an audit date | Scope follows the audit calendar, not a fixed schedule |
Which codes govern NDT inspection work in Martinez?
Cal/OSHA Process Safety Management for Refineries (8 CCR §5189.1), Contra Costa County Industrial Safety Ordinance, API 510 / 570 / 653, NBIC NB-23, ASME Section VIII Div 1 and B31.3, 33 CFR 154 marine transfer operations are the regimes named in contracts here. Each puts the obligation on the employer: a written practice, a Level III who signs it, and records that survive an audit. Which one binds a given job is set by the client contract and the construction code, not by preference.
Can an outside Level III sign our written practice in Martinez?
Yes. SNT-TC-1A places the obligation on the employer, and the employer may designate a contracted Level III to write and sign the written practice, approve procedures and administer examinations. The Level III must be qualified in each method they sign for. What an outside Level III cannot do is substitute for the employer's own records.
Which employers in Martinez drive inspection qualification requirements?
Martinez Refining Company (PBF Energy), Marathon Martinez Renewable Fuels, Amorco Marine Terminal (Marathon), Avon Marine Terminal (Marathon) and their contractors. Approved-supplier requirements flow down: a firm bidding into that supply chain inherits the qualification bar whether or not its own client names it directly, which is why audit-readiness is a bidding issue rather than a paperwork one.
How quickly can a firm in Martinez get audit-ready?
The written practice and procedure set can be drafted and signed inside weeks. What cannot be compressed is documented experience: on-the-job hours accumulate in real time, and reconstructing undocumented hours needs employer attestation. Firms that start when the audit is scheduled rather than when it is announced clear it without findings.
Does Atlantis deliver training as well as Level III cover in Martinez?
Yes — training is delivered on-site at the employer's facility, or as online theory, primarily self-paced, with the practical in the Practical NDT simulator and in person at that facility, under the same Level III oversight. Employers training a crew rather than certifying one technician usually pair the two so the written practice and the training programme match.
Related: outsourced ASNT Level III cover, written practice development, NDT procedure development, examination oversight and employer-sponsored training cohorts. A firm whose Level III has just left should start at what to do when your Level III resigns.
Engagements run as retained cover, project cover, or interim cover before a fixed audit date. See outsourced ASNT Level III cover for scope, or interim Level III when the audit is already scheduled.
Part of NDT consulting in California, NDT consulting in the USA and the wider NDT consulting practice at Atlantis NDT.
Level III support in Martinez
This page covers NDT consulting for work in Martinez. For the national engagement — a named Level III of record, written-practice ownership, procedure approval, audit support and retainer cover delivered wherever your sites are — see ASNT Level III consulting.
Speak to an ASNT NDT Level III
Discuss your inspection requirements with Atlantis NDT. Include the asset, method, location and documents you need reviewed.