Alon USA Energy intends to restart its 70,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery in Bakersfield, California, in 2016, after starting up a new 150,000 bpd crude by rail project there in the third quarter of next year, Chief Executive Paul Eisman told Reuters on Wednesday. “It’s always been our intention to restart the refinery and that’s not changed,” Eisman said. Alon shut down the refinery in late 2012 because it was unprofitable. On Tuesday Kern County officials approved Alon’s permit to build a 150,000 bpd oil-by-rail offloading facility there, which will let the company tap cheaper inland U.S. and Canadian heavy crudes. The company aims to start up the rail operation in the third quarter next year, and can ship whatever the refinery doesn’t process to other California refineries via pipeline.