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Oil refineries may be offered some huge state tax credits to upgrade to cleaner "Tier 3" fuels — and credits are bigger if they move more quickly.

The Senate Transportation Committee voted 4-0 on Monday to advance SB102 to the full Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Ralph Okerlund, R-Monroe, sponsor of the bill, said it would offer tax credits over several years totaling up to 50 percent of the cost of upgrading refineries to produce the cleaner Tier 3 fuels.

"In a lot of cases, these are huge investments to the tune of $100 million or more," he said. "Tier 3 fuel is the No. 1 item to help clean up air in this state."

The bill offers tax credits of 50 percent of the upgrade costs for refineries that make the conversion before 2020; 48 percent if it is made before 2021; 45 percent if made before 2022; 40 percent if before 2023; 35 percent before 2024; and 30 percent before 2025.

The bill amends a law passed last year by Okerlund that offers companies big tax credits to help them build roads, power lines, railroads or other projects — where such facilities do not exist — to attract more business to rural areas.

Lee Peacock, executive director of the Utah Petroleum Association, said the bill "is an important incentive" toward Tier 3 fuels in Utah.

"Oil and gas drilling has almost come to a complete halt in the state of Utah" because of low oil prices, he said. "When prices are high, companies are very willing to bring in those capital dollars to make the investments here that spur all kind of economic development."

But Peacock said prices will likely be low for the foreseeable future. So, "This type of incentive goes a long way to attracting those capital dollars to Utah, whereas they may be spent in other parts of the country if we don't have something like this."

Besides helping to clean the air, Okerlund said the bill "has the potential for making [Utahns] millions or hundreds of millions of dollars as we provide new business and create new jobs."