MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Contractor Dies While Working at Marathon Petroleum Refinery in St. Paul Park

ST. PAUL PARK, MN (September 22, 2026). Police and Marathon Petroleum are investigating the death of a contractor who lost consciousness Sunday while working on a refinery unit at the company’s St. Paul Park facility.

Emergency personnel were called to the refinery at approximately 4:15 p.m. after receiving a report that a contractor had been injured.

The man was pronounced dead at the site. Authorities initially withheld his name pending notification of his family.

Marathon Petroleum said in a statement that the contractor lost consciousness while working on a refinery unit. The company did not identify the unit, describe the work being performed or specify whether the man had been exposed to machinery, chemicals or hazardous conditions.

The St. Paul Park Police Department opened an investigation into the death.

Marathon said a separate investigation would be conducted to determine what caused the incident. The company expressed condolences to the contractor’s family, friends and coworkers and said it maintains a commitment to worker and community safety.

The limited information released leaves several important questions unanswered, including whether the death resulted from an occupational injury, a medical emergency or an exposure associated with refinery operations.

It was also not immediately clear which contracting company employed the worker or whether Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health had opened a workplace-safety investigation.

The refinery is a major industrial facility in Washington County and processes petroleum products for regional markets. Work at refineries can involve heavy equipment, elevated structures, confined spaces, high temperatures and hazardous materials, requiring multiple layers of workplace protection.

Deaths involving contractors can also present complicated questions about which company controlled the work area, provided safety training and supervised the task being performed.

A determination of the cause and manner of death may require information from police, the medical examiner, workplace-safety investigators and the companies involved.

Authorities had not announced evidence of criminal conduct. The investigation remains in its early stages.

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