Valero Energy Corp. and ConocoPhillips, the two biggest U.S. refiners, said a power failure shut down all processing units at their plants in Wilmington, California, near Los Angeles.
``Everyone's down,'' Andy Perez, a ConocoPhillips spokesman, said today in a telephone interview. ``It's too early to ascertain exactly what happened, but we suffered a complete loss of power.''
The power failure occurred at 12:50 a.m. local time and ended within an hour. The Valero plant is capable of processing 135,000 barrels a day, and the ConocoPhillips refinery can process 140,000. The two plants represent almost 14 percent of California's refining capacity and about 1.6 percent of U.S. capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Department figures.
Perez said Houston-based ConocoPhillips has no timetable for service restoration. The plant flared nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide as a result of the power loss, according to filings with the South Coast Air Quality Management District in California. ConocoPhillips is ``trying to get some units back up,'' the spokesman said.
Power has been restored at the Valero plant, and the San Antonio-based company is in the process of getting processing units back to normal operations, spokesman Bill Day said at 6:35 a.m. Los Angeles time. Valero is the largest U.S. refiner.
The power failure caused the Valero plant to flare sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, according to reports the company filed with the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
Chemicals Flared
Flares are refinery safety devices that burn off chemicals into the air. They're often used to release pressure from gases generated during the distillation process when a malfunction interrupts that process.
``A flare was caused by a total power blackout,'' the Valero report said. ``Power has been restored, but the flare continues.''
Tesoro Corp.'s 100,000-barrel-a-day Wilmington plant wasn't affected by the power failure and didn't shut down, company spokesman Sarah Simpson said. San Antonio-based Tesoro is second only to Chevron Corp. in California refining capacity.
``Everyone's down,'' Andy Perez, a ConocoPhillips spokesman, said today in a telephone interview. ``It's too early to ascertain exactly what happened, but we suffered a complete loss of power.''
The power failure occurred at 12:50 a.m. local time and ended within an hour. The Valero plant is capable of processing 135,000 barrels a day, and the ConocoPhillips refinery can process 140,000. The two plants represent almost 14 percent of California's refining capacity and about 1.6 percent of U.S. capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Department figures.
Perez said Houston-based ConocoPhillips has no timetable for service restoration. The plant flared nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide as a result of the power loss, according to filings with the South Coast Air Quality Management District in California. ConocoPhillips is ``trying to get some units back up,'' the spokesman said.
Power has been restored at the Valero plant, and the San Antonio-based company is in the process of getting processing units back to normal operations, spokesman Bill Day said at 6:35 a.m. Los Angeles time. Valero is the largest U.S. refiner.
The power failure caused the Valero plant to flare sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, according to reports the company filed with the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
Chemicals Flared
Flares are refinery safety devices that burn off chemicals into the air. They're often used to release pressure from gases generated during the distillation process when a malfunction interrupts that process.
``A flare was caused by a total power blackout,'' the Valero report said. ``Power has been restored, but the flare continues.''
Tesoro Corp.'s 100,000-barrel-a-day Wilmington plant wasn't affected by the power failure and didn't shut down, company spokesman Sarah Simpson said. San Antonio-based Tesoro is second only to Chevron Corp. in California refining capacity.
