Refinery Events

September 21, 2012—September 27, 2012

The following events were obtained from the Department of Energy (DOE) website:

Unspecified Process Unit Upset Leads to Sulfur Dioxide Emissions at BP’s 225,000 b/d Cherry Point, Washington Refinery September 20 BP Plc reported sulfur dioxide emissions from its Cherry Point refinery on Thursday were due to an unspecified process unit upset, according to a filing with the Northwest Clean Air Agency. The process unit upset was ongoing and some intermittent flaring was possible, the filing said. In a separate filing with the regulators, BP reported a hydrogen plant malfunction at the refinery led to the loss of a compressor in the hydrocracker on September 11. Reuters, 17:15 September 20, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-21-12.

Compressor Shutdown Causes Flaring, Emissions at Citgo’s 167,000 b/d Lemont, Illinois Refinery September 20 Citgo Petroleum Corp. reported a malfunction caused a flare gas compressor to shut at its Lemont refinery Thursday morning, which led to flaring and the release of an unknown amount of fuel gas into the atmosphere, according to a filing with the U.S. National Response Center. http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/reports/rwservlet?standard_web+inc_seq=1024982 Posted to DOE website 9-21-12.

Phillips 66 Reports Flaring Due to Unknown Causes at Its 139,000 b/d Wilmington, California Refinery September 20 reported flaring at its Wilmington refinery Thursday was due to unknown causes, according to a filing with the California Emergency Management Agency. The flaring had not yet been contained at the time of the filing. Reuters, 17:40 September 20. Posted to DOE website 9-21-12.

CO Boiler Leak Causes Emissions at Alon’s 67,000 b/d Big Spring, Texas Refinery September 20 Alon USA Energy reported emissions from a carbon monoxide (CO) boiler at its Big Spring refinery Thursday morning were due to a leak in the flue gas bundle steam generator, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Operators were beginning reports on the CO boiler at the time of the filing. http://www11.tceq.state.tx.us/oce/eer/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.getDetails&target=173748 Posted to DOE website 9-21-12.

Update: Delta Begins Jet Fuel Production at Its 185,000 b/d Trainer, Refinery – Source subsidiary Monroe Energy has begun producing jet fuel at its Trainer refinery, a source familiar with the situation said on Monday. Last week, the crude distillation unit began operation at half rates, ahead of the restart of the second crude heating unit. The sulfur recovery unit restarted, but unforeseen issues with the 53,000 b/d fluid catalytic cracking unit will delay the restart of that unit, the source said. The second crude oil heater is undergoing extensive maintenance and is expected to come back up in a week or so, the source said. Delta purchased Phillips 66’s idled 185,000 b/d Trainer refinery in June and has been preparing to restart the facility, which has been idle since September 2011. The company has reconfigured parts of the refinery to increase the production of jet fuel to 52,000 b/d, or about 32 percent of output, while reducing production of gasoline. Reuters, 09:05 September 24, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

Update: Motiva’s 235,000 b/d Convent, Louisiana Refinery Still Operating at Reduced Rates September 21 after Shutdown August 30 Due to Hurricane Isaac Motiva Enterprises continues to operate its Convent, Louisiana refinery at reduced rates three weeks after being shut on August 30 by Hurricane Isaac, according to a company spokeswoman. The refinery notified Louisiana pollution

1 regulators on August 27 that it would shut its fluidic catalytic cracking unit through September 21. On Friday, the company had no update to a September 5 statement that said the refinery had not returned to normal production. Reuters, 16:03 September 21, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

Update: Phillips 66 Resumes Production at Its 247,000 b/d Belle Chasse, Louisiana Refinery by September 21 after Shutdown August 28 Due to Hurricane Isaac Phillips 66 reported that as of Friday, September 21, it has completed the restart of its Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana and resumed production, according to a statement. The refinery was shut in advance of Hurricane Isaac late last month and was delayed in restarting by a power failure and flooding due to the storm. Reuters, 17:59 September 21, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

Coker Compressor Shutdown Causes Emissions at ExxonMobil’s 238,600 b/d Joliet, Illinois Refinery September 23 ExxonMobil Corp. reported emissions due to a coker compressor shutdown at its Joliet refinery Sunday afternoon, according to a filing with the U.S. National Response Center. Operators cut rates and closed a flare valve, securing the release, the filing said. http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/reports/rwservlet?standard_web+inc_seq=1025334 Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

Update: Citgo Restarts Gas Recovery Compressor at Its 167,000 b/d Lemont, Illinois Refinery September 21 Citgo Petroleum Corp. reported it restarted a gas recovery compressor at its Lemont refinery on Friday after it tripped Thursday due to an electrical issue. No processing units were affected by the shutdown, the company said. Reuters, 16:53 September 21, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

LyondellBasell Says Unspecified Upset at Its 270,600 b/d Houston, Texas Refinery September 23 Will Not Affect Production LyondellBasell said an unspecified incident that led to flaring at its Houston refinery Sunday afternoon would not affect production, according to a spokesman. The refinery had reported the incident on a community information line without specifying the units involved in the upset. Reuters, 19:21 September 23, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

ExxonMobil Reports Flaring at Its 344,500 b/d Beaumont, Texas Refinery September 24 ExxonMobil Corp. reported unspecified operating conditions at its Beaumont refinery required flaring Monday, according to a message on a community information line. Reuters, 06:48 September 24, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

Equipment Failure Causes Diesel Fuel Release at PBF’s 190,000 b/d Delaware City, Delaware Refinery September 21 PBF Energy Inc. reported a release of diesel fuel at its Delaware City refinery Friday afternoon was due to an unspecified equipment failure, according to a filing with state pollution regulators. Reuters, 16:21 September 21, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

Update: Phillips 66 Completes Restart at Its 139,000 b/d Wilmington, California Refinery September 21 Phillips 66 said it completed the restart of its Wilmington refinery and resumed production on Friday, according to a company spokesman. Early last week the refinery reported it was in the process of restarting a majority of its units after a power outage September 15. Operators also reported flaring due to unknown causes September 20. Reuters, 18:04 September 21, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

EPA Investigating Chevron for Possible Criminal Air-Pollution Violations at Its 245,271 b/d Richmond, California Refinery

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in early 2012 opened a criminal investigation of Chevron after local inspectors notified the agency that the company may have detoured pollutants around monitoring equipment to flare at its Richmond refinery for 4 years. Inspectors from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which enforces federal air standards, in August 2009 discovered Chevron had installed more than 100 feet of 3-inch pipe linking the refinery’s Isomax unit to the flare tower and bypassing two sets of monitoring equipment. Chevron said the pipe was designed to balance pressure in the refining process, but investigators could find no legitimate use for it and ordered Chevron to remove it, according to an air-quality district official. The EPA’s investigation is still ongoing. Investigators are trying to determine who at Chevron was aware of the bypass pipe and whether the company used it intentionally to deceive air-pollution regulators. Chevron says its use was inadvertent and that it estimates that the amount of released sulfur dioxide was minimal. http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Criminal-investigation-at-Chevron-refinery-3886927.php#page-1 Posted to DOE website 9-24-12.

Update: Chevron Says Composition of Failed Pipe that Caused CDU Fire at Its 245,271 b/d Richmond, California Refinery in August Made It More Susceptible to Thinning Chevron Corp. on Monday reported that the corroded 8-inch pipe that failed on a crude distillation unit (CDU) and caused a massive fire at its Richmond refinery on August 6 had a low silicon content that went undetected during the company’s tests and therefore was unaddressed. During scheduled maintenance in November 2011, the 200 feet of piping in question had been inspected in 19 different locations, but not the 5-foot length that failed. The company now thinks the chemical composition of the pipe caused it to be more susceptible to thinning when exposed to high temperatures, a weakness that was not fully understood or acted upon before the corroded conduit exploded. Operators will need a few more weeks to assess damage before estimating how long it will take to repair the crude unit. The refinery has run at a “reduced” rate since the fire, and this has risen only marginally since then. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chevron-failed-pipe-had-unknown-054603724.html http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_21620306/public-meeting-into-chevrons-richmond-fire-expected-draw http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chevron-says-richmond-repair-timing-041717178.html Posted to DOE website 9-25-12.

Update: ExxonMobil Restores Normal Operations at Its 503,000 b/d Baton Rouge, Louisiana Refinery by September 24 after Reducing Rates Due to Hurricane Isaac ExxonMobil Corp. on Monday reported its Baton Rouge refinery has returned to normal operations. The refinery was operating at reduced rates since August 28 due to Hurricane Isaac. Reuters, 17:40 September 24, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-25-12.

Pinhole Leak Releases Hydrogen Sulfide from a Flare at Motiva’s 236,400 b/d Norco, Louisiana Refinery September 24 Motiva Enterprises reported a release of hydrogen sulfide from a flare at its Norco refinery Monday afternoon was due to a pinhole leak in a line coming from an unspecified process unit, according to a filing with the U.S. National Response Center. Operators had not yet secured the release at the time of the filing. http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/reports/rwservlet?standard_web+inc_seq=1025439 Posted to DOE website 9-25-12.

Exchanger Leak Has No Impact on Production at PBF’s 190,000 b/d Delaware City, Delaware Refinery This Week – Sources A small exchanger leak at PBF Energy’s Delaware City refinery this week had no impact on production, according to sources familiar with the situation. The tube leak was fixed immediately. It was unclear how much oil spilled. A company spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Reuters, 10:30 September 25, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-25-12.

Explosion Hits Irving’s 300,000 b/d Saint John, New Brunswick Refinery September 26 – Local Media An explosion occurred Wednesday morning at Irving Oil’s Saint John refinery and injured one person, according to local media reports. The refinery is currently in the process of planned maintenance. A spokeswoman for the company was not immediately available. Reuters, 11:37 September 26, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-26-12.

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Power Supply Malfunction Causes SRU Emissions at Valero’s 142,000 b/d Corpus Christi, Texas Refinery September 25 Valero reported a power supply malfunction in Complex 7 at its Corpus Christi East Plant caused emissions Tuesday afternoon, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The filing lists the sulfur recovery unit (SRU) No. 2 as among the sources of emissions. http://www11.tceq.state.tx.us/oce/eer/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.getDetails&target=173960 Posted to DOE website 9-26-12.

Tesoro Reports Reformer Unit Startup at Its 166,000 b/d Martinez, California Refinery September 23 Tesoro Corp. on Sunday reported the startup of the No. 3 reformer unit at its Golden Eagle refinery in Martinez, California, according to a filing with the Contra Costa County Health Department Hazardous Materials Program. The refinery had reported it shut an unspecified unit on September 15 to repair a leak. Reuters, 10:16 September 27, 2012. Posted to DOE website 9-27-12.

Update: Production Resumes Shortly after Tank Explosion at Irving’s 300,000 b/d Saint John, New Brunswick Refinery September 26 Irving Oil said the explosion at its Saint John refinery Wednesday morning occurred when a tank undergoing maintenance became over-pressurized, according to a statement. A 1,100-barrel tank of potassium hydroxide exploded just before noon Wednesday, but the incident did not compromise the container and caused no damage. Irving said production resumed about 50 minutes after the incident, which was not expected to impact operations at the refinery. http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/Article/3094938/Latest-News/Explosion-injures-one-worker-at-Irving- Oilrefinery-in-New-Brunswick-Canada.html http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/article/GB/20120926/CP02/309269893/-1/princegeorge/explosion-at-irvingoil- refinery-in-new-brunswick-sends-man-to&template=cpArt Posted to DOE website 9-27-12.

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