During Tropical Storm Edouard on September 1, the Valero Port Arthur refinery in Texas lost power, causing process disruptions and problems with a refinery safety flare. Jefferson County officials later said Valero contacted the county because the refinery was having difficulty relighting the flare.
The flare is designed to safely burn off refinery gases during process upsets. According to local emergency management officials, severe weather—including heavy rain and powerful wind gusts—made relighting the flare difficult. The outage and flare problem occurred as strong odors were being reported throughout portions of the Port Arthur area.
The situation became serious enough that Valero discussed a possible two-mile shelter-in-place order with Jefferson County. Port Arthur officials began preparing public notifications. Approximately 15 minutes later, however, officials were informed that the flare had been successfully relit and the request was withdrawn. No shelter-in-place order was ultimately issued.
Valero subsequently informed county officials that the problems had been resolved and that the refinery was bringing its systems back online. Environmental regulators were also notified following the incident.
Valero reported substantial emissions associated with the event, including nearly 20,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and more than 8,700 pounds of hydrogen sulfide. Authorities have not definitively established that Valero was responsible for all of the widespread odor reported throughout the Port Arthur area.
No fatalities or serious injuries have been reported. The incident nevertheless demonstrates how quickly severe weather, electrical failures and process disruptions can create significant operating challenges inside a major refinery.
Motiva Port Arthur Refinery Also Returns Units to Service
A separate recovery was underway at the nearby Motiva Port Arthur refinery, the largest refinery in the United States. Motiva restarted its approximately 90,000-barrel-per-day crude distillation unit after storm-related disruptions.
The restart brought the Motiva units affected by the storm back into production, representing another important step toward normal refinery operations across the Port Arthur industrial corridor.
The Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast contains one of the largest concentrations of refining, petrochemical and LNG infrastructure in the world. Severe weather events affecting this region can therefore have consequences extending far beyond individual facilities, potentially affecting fuel production, industrial operations, contractors and energy markets.
Næxon News will continue monitoring major refinery fires, explosions, fatalities, releases, shutdowns and other significant industrial incidents across the United States.