Scorpio
04-02-2010, 09:25 AM
Tesoro Plant Blast Kills Worker, Three Others Missing (Update2)
By Fred Pals
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- One worker was killed and three others were missing following an explosion and fire at a Tesoro Corp. refinery in Anacortes, Washington, today.
“Early this morning we did experience a fire in our catalytic reformer hydrotreater unit and emergency response procedures were immediately activated,” Tesoro’s Human Resources Manager John McDarment said in a phone interview. He said four people have been transported to a hospital and three are “unaccounted for.”
The plant ships out gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the western Washington and Portland markets.
The incident may boost gasoline prices that are already at their highest level in 18 months. Gasoline for May delivery yesterday rose 1.65 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $2.3237 a gallon in New York, the highest settlement for the front-month contract since Oct. 1, 2008. There is no Nymex futures trading today because of the Good Friday holiday.
Wholesale gasoline prices on the West Coast have weakened relative to the rest of the U.S., with 87-octane selling in Portland for 6 cents a gallon less than the New York Mercantile Exchange benchmark, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In the past year, Portland gasoline has sold for an average 5.5 cent-a-gallon premium to New York markets.
Naphtha Unit
The Tesoro plant, located about 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Seattle, has a capacity of 120,000 barrels a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It receives Canadian crude through a pipeline from Edmonton, Alberta, and takes Alaskan oil by tankers, according to the San Antonio-based company’s Web site.
The fire occurred at 12:30 a.m. at a naphtha unit during maintenance work and was brought under control by the plant’s emergency crews at around 2 a.m. local time, Tesoro, the largest refiner in the western U.S., said in an e-mailed statement.
“At this time, there is one confirmed fatality, four employees have been admitted into the local hospital for treatment and three employees remain unaccounted for,” the statement said.
The cause of the incident is still unknown, McDarment said. The units that were affected have been shut down and stabilized.
To contact the reporters on this story: Fred Pals in Amsterdam at fpals@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 2, 2010 09:06 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aC3xz5Sgp2LM&pos=8
By Fred Pals
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- One worker was killed and three others were missing following an explosion and fire at a Tesoro Corp. refinery in Anacortes, Washington, today.
“Early this morning we did experience a fire in our catalytic reformer hydrotreater unit and emergency response procedures were immediately activated,” Tesoro’s Human Resources Manager John McDarment said in a phone interview. He said four people have been transported to a hospital and three are “unaccounted for.”
The plant ships out gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the western Washington and Portland markets.
The incident may boost gasoline prices that are already at their highest level in 18 months. Gasoline for May delivery yesterday rose 1.65 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $2.3237 a gallon in New York, the highest settlement for the front-month contract since Oct. 1, 2008. There is no Nymex futures trading today because of the Good Friday holiday.
Wholesale gasoline prices on the West Coast have weakened relative to the rest of the U.S., with 87-octane selling in Portland for 6 cents a gallon less than the New York Mercantile Exchange benchmark, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In the past year, Portland gasoline has sold for an average 5.5 cent-a-gallon premium to New York markets.
Naphtha Unit
The Tesoro plant, located about 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Seattle, has a capacity of 120,000 barrels a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It receives Canadian crude through a pipeline from Edmonton, Alberta, and takes Alaskan oil by tankers, according to the San Antonio-based company’s Web site.
The fire occurred at 12:30 a.m. at a naphtha unit during maintenance work and was brought under control by the plant’s emergency crews at around 2 a.m. local time, Tesoro, the largest refiner in the western U.S., said in an e-mailed statement.
“At this time, there is one confirmed fatality, four employees have been admitted into the local hospital for treatment and three employees remain unaccounted for,” the statement said.
The cause of the incident is still unknown, McDarment said. The units that were affected have been shut down and stabilized.
To contact the reporters on this story: Fred Pals in Amsterdam at fpals@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 2, 2010 09:06 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aC3xz5Sgp2LM&pos=8