(Reuters) – Valero Energy Corp is preparing to restart its 380,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, oil refinery this week after shutting the plant on Tuesday following an explosion and fire the previous day, two people familiar with operations said.
Workers were blocking the pipelines that feed the damaged 47,000-bpd unit 243 diesel hydrotreater early on Wednesday, the sources said, adding that the shutdown was needed to extinguish the fire on Tuesday.
No injuries were reported from the blast, triggered after process fluid was released on unit 243, Valero said in a regulatory filing.
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The explosion was felt 11 miles (18 km) from the plant, located on the east Texas border with Louisiana.
The outage comes as refining margins are strong due to closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran amid the conflict in the region, which has shut significant supply of refined products from Middle Eastern refineries.
Once the feed lines to unit 243 have been blocked, Valero will return natural gas to the plant and re-light the safety flare system and boilers to raise steam that drives utilities and heat production units, the sources said.
Feedstock can be reintroduced once 14 other production units return to operating temperatures, and the process of getting output within specifications will take place. The refinery’s production will be brought up to planned levels, as close to maximum capacity as possible.
Hydrotreaters use hydrogen to remove sulfur from motor fuels during production, in compliance with U.S. environmental rules.
Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Bernadette Baum
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