Fire blazes at California refinery; residents ordered indoors

Blaze, blasts hit California refinery Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:41:22 GMT A series of explosions and fire at an oil refinery in Richmond, California, have sent columns of thick black smoke into the air and forced local residents to stay in their homes. The blaze, raging on for two and a half hours after breaking out, began at around 6:15 p.m. local time on Monday at No. 4 crude unit of Chevron Corp’s refinery. Chevron said in a statement that one person has sustained only minor injury at the refinery. According to authorities, the plant accounts for almost one-eighth of the state's refining capacity and therefore there are serious concerns that gasoline prices could go up in case of prolonged disruption in the facility’s production process. The nearby residents have also been provided shelter to avoid exposure to dangerous chemicals or smoke. California Emergency Management Agency has reported that sulfuric acid and nitrogen dioxide were released during the incident. We are “very disappointed that this happened, and apologize that we are inconveniencing our neighbors,” said Chevron spokesman Walt Gill. The refinery has often been censured for environmental issues. === Fire blazes at California refinery; residents ordered indoors Tue, Aug 07 00:56 AM EDT 1 of 2 By Braden Reddall and Erwin Seba RICHMOND/HOUSTON (Reuters) - A fire struck the core of Chevron Corp's large Richmond, California, refinery on Monday evening, sending flames and a column of smoke into the air and prompting authorities to order nearby residents indoors. The fire, which authorities said was still blazing more than two and a half hours after it erupted, hit the sole crude unit at the 245,000 barrel per day (bpd) plant, which accounts for one-eighth of the state's refining capacity. A lasting outage at the refinery could cause a swift rise in gasoline prices across the West Coast, a region that is isolated from other markets. Nearby residents were advised to shelter in place, an order often given during significant refinery accidents to shield against possible exposure to dangerous chemicals or smoke. Chevron said in a statement that there had been only one minor injury at the refinery, which is celebrating its 110th anniversary. At its peak 10 years ago, it employed over 1,300 people on a site over 2,900 acres, according to its website. Online photos showed the blaze sending a plume of black smoke into the air over the plant, which is located in a densely populated, industrial East Bay suburb of San Francisco. Four Bay Area Rapid Transit stations were shut. "I looked out the window and saw 40 foot flames and black smoke," said Marc Mowrey, a Point Richmond resident who lives about a mile from the plant. He said the smell was not exceptional or very different from other days, but a huge plume of smoke was sitting over Richmond and neighboring El Cerrito. Local residents have periodically criticized the refinery, concerned about environmental issues and the taxes that Chevron pays to the impoverished city of Richmond. NO SPECULATION ON CAUSE Chevron said the fire had started in the No. 4 crude unit at 6:15 p.m. local time, and it was not known when it might be extinguished. Sulfuric acid and nitrogen dioxide were released during the incident, according to a filing with the California Emergency Management Agency. The No. 4 CDU is the only one at the plant, according to documents filed with state regulators, and the status of other units was unknown, although it is common to shut down the entire plant in the event of a major blaze. We are "very disappointed that this happened, and apologize that we are inconveniencing our neighbors," Chevron spokesman Walt Gill told local television. A Reuters reporter who lives nearby said he heard some loud bangs and a siren as the fire erupted, but a Chevron spokesman denied reports of an explosion. Chevron said it would not speculate as to what caused the fire. Any prolonged disruption in production could have a significant impact on the regional fuel markets, particularly gasoline, due to the difficulty in making California's super-clean specifications and the fact that the West Coast region has few immediate alternative supply sources in case of an outage. The crude distillation unit (CDU) is at the heart of the refining process, converting the crude oil coming into a refinery into intermediate feedstock for all other units. It can take months to repair a CDU at a large plant, during which time operations are typically severely limited. A February 17 fire at the CDU of BP Plc's 225,000 bpd Cherry Point, Washington, refinery led to a three-month shutdown and sent the regional price premium to more than $1 a gallon in some places. (Editing by Richard Pullin and Miral Fahmy) ============ Worker killed, another injured after explosion at Oklahoma oil refineryBy NBC News staff Follow @NBCNewsUSOne worker was killed and another injured after an explosion and fire at an Oklahoma oil refinery on Friday night, the owner of the plant, CVR Energy, told NBC News. CVR Energy confirmed that a boiler at the Wynnewood Refinery exploded at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Friday. One worker was fatally injured, the company said. Another employee was taken to an area hospital. Identities of the two employees have not been released. All other employees have been accounted for, according to CVR. Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com Advertise | AdChoicesFire crews were battling a blaze at the refinery, the Oklahoman newspaper reported on its website. The American Red Cross sent volunteers to provide food and water for the firefighters, the paper reported. A stretch of state Highway 17A was shut down due to the explosion on Friday evening. CVR Wynnewood, Oklahoma refinery boiler blast kills worker Fri, Sep 28 23:26 PM EDT HOUSTON (Reuters) - One worker was killed in a boiler explosion on Friday at CVR Energy Inc.'s 70,000 barrel per day (bpd) Wynnewood, Oklahoma, refinery, a company spokeswoman said in a statement. Another refinery employee was taken to an Oklahoma City hospital, according to Garvin County Sheriff Larry Rhodes. There was no fire following the blast, which occurred at about 6:20 p.m. local time (1120 GMT) because the refinery was shut down for a 40-day overhaul, Rhodes said. "There was no threat to Wynnewood or the surrounding communities," Rhodes said. Neither the company nor Rhodes gave details about the injuries employees sustained in the blast. Boilers are required at a refinery to generate steam for electrical power production, and for use in the crude oil refining process. "All other employees are accounted for at this time," said CVR spokeswoman Angie Dasbach. "Company officials are assessing the situation and will provide updates as information becomes available." CVR acquired the Wynnewood refinery when it purchased Gary-Williams Energy Corp for $525 million in December. Wynnewood is located 67 miles south of the state capital of Oklahoma City. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Daniel Magnowski) ======== UPDATE 1-CVR Energy plans September work at Oklahoma refinery Thu, Aug 02 15:12 PM EDT HOUSTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - CVR Energy Inc finished major work that boosted capacity at its Kansas refinery in March, and may do the same for its Oklahoma refinery by 2014, CEO Jack Lipinski said on Thursday. He told analysts the company will launch a 45-day turnaround at its 70,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, in late September. An even bigger project under consideration is building a $42 million hydrogen plant at the refinery to upgrade its hydrocracker, which had been run as a hydrotreater by its previous owner, Gary-Williams Energy Corp, Lipinski said. Planning and permitting would make it "a 2014-type project," he said during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call. CVR finished a major turnaround at the Coffeyville plant in March, which increased its capacity to more than 120,000 bpd from 115,700 bpd. CVR said the refinery reached a record 125,900 bpd in June. With the Wynnewood turnaround, Lipinski said throughput at both plants in the third quarter would range between 179,000 bpd and 188,000 bpd. CVR released its second-quarter results late Wednesday. Net profit rose nearly 24 percent to $154.7 million, or $1.75 per share, from $124.9 million, or $1.42 per share, a year earlier. CVR shares were down 2.6 percent at $27.46 in Thursday afternoon trading. UPDATE 1-Oklahoma refineries, pipelines unaffected by quakes Sun, Nov 06 17:18 PM EST * 5.6 magnitude quake shook state Saturday night * Largest refinery says operations continue HOUSTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Crude oil refineries and pipelines in Oklahoma were unaffected by earthquakes that shook the state over the weekend, operators said on Sunday. The strongest quake -- a 5.6 magnitude temblor -- rumbled the region on Saturday night, with aftershocks continuing Sunday in the central area of the state, about 40 miles (64 km) east of the capital Oklahoma City. A spokeswoman for ConocoPhillips' 198,400 barrel- per-day (bpd) refinery in Ponca City, the state's largest, said there was no "damage or operating issues" due to the quake. The refinery is 106 miles (171 km) north of Oklahoma City. Enterprise Products Partners crude oil pipeline connecting the oil transport hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, was not affected by the quake, said company spokesman Rick Rainey. State regulators said oil and natural gas production was unaffected by the earthquakes. Valero Energy Corp said its 85,000 bpd Ardmore, Oklahoma said production continue as normal. Gary-Williams 70,000 bpd refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, also continued operating normally, a spokeswoman said. UPDATE 2-CVR Energy says not looking for another US refinery Thu, Nov 03 15:35 PM EDT * CVR Energy buys coveted Midwest asset * Says will process shale, Canadian crude at plants * Planned turnaround in Q3 2012 at Oklahoma refinery By Selam Gebrekidan Nov 3 (Reuters) - After a six-year search, CVR Energy said on Thursday it has found the perfect asset in the Midwest and is not looking for more. The Texas-based company, which announced on Wednesday it will buy Gary-Williams Energy Corp's 70,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, for $525 million plus $100 million in working capital, said that it is not looking at other refineries in the United States. CVR told analysts on its third-quarter earnings call that the deal was in the making for six years. When completed at the end of the year, it will add to the company's 115,000 bpd refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas. "We want to absorb this first," a company executive said. "It took us six years to get the right one, and we believe we got the right one, so I wouldn't say that we're in the market for another refinery right now," he added. Previous-owner Gary-Williams spent over $100 million for capital improvements at the Wynnewood refinery prior to the deal, which improved the refinery's sour crude processing capacity. The plant can now run 25 to 30 percent sour crude. CVR said it plans to process both tight shale oil produced in the U.S. Midwest and increasing Canadian imports at both the Kansas and Oklahoma plants. The plants will especially benefit from growing production in the Bakken tight oil play in North Dakota, that raised the state's production to a record high above 444,000 bpd. THE MIDWEST EDGE CVR Energy has been among U.S. Midwest refiners to rake massive profits out of the record spread between London-based Brent and U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) over the last year created by a supply glut at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub. Third quarter refinery margins at CVR's Kansas plant alone jumped a whopping 154 percent from last year's levels. Nonetheless, a CVR executive said he expects the spread between Brent and WTI crudes will narrow to the cost of transporting the crude glut in the Midwest to the Gulf Coast refining hub, which will be priced around $3.50 to $4.00 a barrel. The company has its own crude-gathering system with some 36,000 bpd capacity in the Midwest and is currently building an additional 1 million barrel storage at the WTI crude delivery hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, which it expected to be completed in 2012. CVR will undertake planned turnaround at the Wynnewood refinery in the third quarter of 2012 that is expected to last a month. ==========