Reported Refinery Events April 11 – April 17, 2014 The following events were obtained from the Department of Energy (DOE) website: Thinned Pipe Walls Led to 2009 Explosion, Fire at Silver Eagle’s 10,250 b/d Woods Cross Refinery in Utah – U.S. Chemical Board A massive explosion and fire at the Silver Eagle refinery on November 4, 2009, in Woods Cross, Utah, which damaged over 100 homes in a nearby neighborhood, was caused by a rupture in a pipe that had become dangerously thin from corrosion, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) reported Thursday. The CSB released a detailed expert metallurgical report that was commissioned in the course of its ongoing investigation of the incident. The catastrophic rupture occurred in a ten-inch pipe at the bottom of a reactor in the mobil distillate dewaxing unit. It led to a massive release of hydrogen, which caught fire immediately and exploded, sending a blast wave across the refinery into a subdivision. The metallurgical failure study and analysis performed for the CSB by Exponent, a Texas-based engineering and scientific consulting company, details findings from laboratory examination of pipe segments recovered after the incident. The report also examines the history of the pipe that ruptured, determining that the component that failed had no record of ever being inspected for corrosion as it thinned over the years. csb.gov/-csb-releases-analysis-showing-cause-of-rupture-and-hydrogen-blast-in-2009-silver-eagle-refinery-accident-in-woods-cross-utah-pipe-walls-thinned-due-to-corrosion-that-went-uninspected-for-years-/ Posted to DOE website 4-11-14 Update: Citgo Says All Units at Its 174,500 b/d Lemont, Illinois Refinery at Planned Rates April 10 Citgo Petroleum Corp. said on Thursday that a unit upset at its Lemont, Illinois, refinery was a minor issue and units were operating at planned rates. The refinery had reported the upset on Tuesday, according to a filing with state pollution regulators. Reuters, 15:43 April 10, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-11-14. Valero Reports Flaring at West Plant of Its 200,000 b/d Corpus Christi, Texas Refinery April 11 Valero Energy Corp. reported flaring at its Corpus Christi, west plant in Texas, according to a Corpus Christi Emergency Information System phone line message. The company runs a 200,000 b/d refinery in Corpus Christi. Reuters, 7:33 April 11, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-11-14. Valero Reports Unplanned Flaring at Its 132,000 b/d Benicia, California Refinery April 8 Valero Energy Corp. reported unplanned flaring at its refinery in Benicia, California, according to a notice with the California Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday. Reuters, 20:35 April 10, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-11-14. Phillips 66 Reports Process Unit Upset at Its 333,000 b/d Wood River, Illinois Refinery April 14 Phillips 66 reported a process unit upset at its joint-venture Wood River, Illinois, refinery on Monday, according to a filing with state pollution regulators. The malfunction occurred at a “cracked gas plant,” the filing said. Planned maintenance is under way at the refinery. Reuters, 4:21 April 15, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-15-14. Exxon Reports No Impacts to Production from Power Blip at Its 149,500 b/d Torrance, California Refinery April 12 Exxon Mobil Corp. reported there was no impact on production due to a power interruption on Saturday at its refinery in Torrance, California, according to a filing with the California Emergency Management Agency. The incident led to flaring and the refinery continued to operate, the filing said. The company said on April 2 that scheduled maintenance at the refinery was expected to last several weeks. Reuters, 2:27 April 14, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-15-14. 1,100 Gallon Fuel Spill Reported during Rail Truck Transfer at Calumet’s 14,500 b/d San Antonio, Texas Refinery About 1,100 gallons of fuel spilled April 11 as the refinery was transferring jet fuel to a rail truck. Authorities reported that less than 100 gallons of the spilled fuel leaked into the San Antonio River April 12. ksat/news/fuel-from-southside-plant-spills-into-sa-river/25449818 Posted to DOE website 4-16-14. Valero Reports Operations Back to Normal after Upset at Its 200,000 b/d Corpus Christi, Texas Refinery April 15 Valero Energy Corp. reported a hydrocracker unit upset caused by a plugged cooler at the East plant of its refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Tuesday. The cooler heat exchanger, which caused emissions, was isolated from the process and the hydrocracker unit later returned to normal operations, the filing said. Reuters, 17:04 April 15, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-16-14. LyondellBasell Reports Flaring at Its 273,433 b/d Houston, Texas Refinery April 16 LyondellBasell Industries reported flaring at its Houston, Texas, refinery, according to a notice posted on a community information phone line early Wednesday. Reuters, 6:12 April 16, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-16-14. Total Reports Equipment Shutdown at Its 225,500 b/d Port Arthur, Texas Refinery April 15 Total reported the shutdown of equipment within an unspecified “unit 855,” which led to emissions on Tuesday at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The flare gas recovery was over supplied with process gases due to the equipment shutdown, resulting in flaring, the filing said. An investigation was underway and the refinery claimed affirmative defense for the incident, the report added. Reuters, 19:03 April 15, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-16-14. Valero Reported Compressor Trip at Its 132,000 b/d Benicia, California Refinery April 15 Valero Energy Corp. reported a compressor trip at its refinery in Benicia, California, according to a notice with the California Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday. The report did not specify the unit the compressor was associated with. Reuters, 16:40 April 15, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-16-14. CVR Energy Reports FCCU Regenerator Emissions at Its 70,000 b/d Wynnewood, Oklahoma Refinery April 9 CVR Energy Inc. reported carbon monoxide emissions from a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) regenerator at its refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, on April 9, according to a filing with state pollution regulators made public on Wednesday. Reuters, 12:27 April 16, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-17-14. HollyFrontier Reports Emissions at Its 70,300 b/d Tulsa East, Oklahoma Refinery April 14–15 HollyFrontier reported hydrogen sulfide emissions at its Tulsa East refinery on April 14–15, according to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Reuters, 12:27 April 16, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-17-14. Chevron Reports Flaring from FCCU April 13, SRU Back Online April 16 at Its 245,000 b/d Richmond, California Refinery Chevron Corp. reported significant flaring from a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at its Richmond, California, refinery on Sunday, according to a filing with the Contra Costa Health Department Hazardous Materials Program. The filing did not mention whether the flaring event affected production. On Wednesday, the sulfur recovery unit (SRU) was back online after the refinery reported a shutdown of an SRU train earlier in the day, according to a filing with the Contra Costa Health Department Hazardous Materials Program. Reuters, 14:13 April 16, 2014 Reuters, 18:39 April 16, 2014. Posted to DOE website 4-17-14.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 20:03:53 +0000