ConocoPhillips buyer of STK campus

LOUISVILLE – ConocoPhillips Co. plans to open a global technology and corporate learning center for renewable energy and high-tech carbon fuels recovery in Louisville by 2012.

The Houston-based energy giant was the mystery buyer of the Storage Technology Corp. property along U.S. 36, which Sun Microsystems sold for $58.5 million on Jan. 28.

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ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is forming internal teams to assess the buildings at the 432-acre site to determine how much renovation or construction must be done to build the research and development center, said Bill Tanner, a spokesman for ConocoPhillips. “We will be moving quickly on this over then next few months.”

Tanner said the area appealed to ConocoPhillips because the campus is within 50 miles of four universities – University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado School of Mines in Golden and the University of Denver – and other amenities. “The National Renewable Energy Lab is nearby, Denver International Airport is a world-class airport, and the community is one of those top 100 places to live,” Tanner said.

ConocoPhillips currently has two research and development operations in Bartlesville and Ponca City, Okla. Tanner said they are operating at capacity.

Tanner said the number of jobs created for the center hasn’t been determined. “We will have a permanent cadre of employees to run the center, and we will be regularly bringing in employees from our 40 locations worldwide to use the center.”

Gov. Bill Ritter announced the energy company’s plans for the StorageTek site on Wednesday in a speech to the Rocky Mountain Asphalt Association at the Holiday Inn at Denver International Airport. 

The governor had learned of the buyer Wednesday morning, said spokesman Jim Carpenter.

“Like everybody, we did not know the buyer until today,” Carpenter said. The state did not provide any incentives in the deal, he added.