One of two refineries in West Texas. Big Spring is a relatively small, 70,000 barrels per day capacity plant. It is operated now by Alon, an Israeli energy company, that bought the US refining and marketing assets of Fina in 2000 (Fina has operated the plant since 1963). The plant opened in 1928, to refine regional crude from the Permian Basin, one of the most productive oil fields of the world. Most of the Permian Basin crude was shipped by pipeline to Houston and Gulf Coast refineries. The plant in today employs around 170 people. The damage from a large explosion there in February 2008 has been repaired.