August 17, 2012:

RICHMOND -- Organizers and community leaders think now is as good a time as any to talk about health. In the aftermath of an Aug. 6 fire at Chevron's Richmond refinery that sent more than 9,000 residents to the hospital with respiratory irritation and other health issues, community organizing group Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and elected officials met with about 90 residents Thursday night. The meeting at the East Bay Center for Performing Arts, dubbed "Heal Richmond," dealt with questions about the recent fire and public health concerns. "We want to hold business leaders and city officials accountable for the quality of health care and exposure to toxic fumes from the industries that are in our community," said ACCE member Dave Gesinger.

Speakers discussed the dangers of toxic fumes emitted during the refinery fire -- which sent a massive plume of black smoke wafting across the East Bay -- and the importance of both preventive care and quick action in the event of industrial accidents. Chevron's massive Richmond refinery has followed dozens of small fires and accidental emissions in the past two decades.  "As long as Chevron is in business here, this won't be the last fire," said Silvia Gray-White, a local environmentalist. The refinery fire occurred after workers discovered an old pipe -- which may have been in operation since the 1970s -- leaking at 20 drips a minute. They waited about two hours.  before deciding to remove the pipe's fiberglass insulation while the unit was still processing crude, according to federal investigators, causing the leak to accelerate and form a vapor cloud that ignited minutes later.

Five refinery workers were treated for minor injuries, and more than a dozen narrowly escaped severe injuries or death in what the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has called a "near disaster." Investigators have said the decision by Chevron last fall to delay replacement of that pipe is a key line of inquiry.  Chemical board spokeswoman Hillary Cohen said the investigative agency has received a large volume of documents from Chevron, including pipe thickness measurements on the 8-inch pipe. The team has not yet been able to access the accident location because of the ongoing concern of nearby hydrocarbons, Cohen said. Chevron spokeswoman Melissa Ritchie has said that the refinery has a good record of worker and community safety and would fully cooperate with the independent probe into the fire. Chevron has established a claim center at the Nevin Community Center and a 24-hour hotline to accept claims from residents who suffered missed work or other financial losses associated with the fire. The work of area hospitals like Kaiser Richmond and Doctors Medical Center has earned broad praise. Each treated thousands of residents who flooded emergency rooms in the first 72-hours after the fire.

Oakland-based attorney John Burris on Wednesday announced that he and two other firms had filed suit in Contra Costa County Superior Court alleging that the fire stemmed in part from Chevron's "gross negligence." Thursday's meeting also dovetailed into another controversial issue in Richmond, a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverage sales in the city that will be decided by local voters in November. Residents asked City Councilman Jeff Ritterman, a main proponent of the tax, how they can be sure the estimated $3 million in annual revenue from the tax would be used to fund anti-obesity and recreation programs, as advertised. "Using the money for other things, that's not going to happen," Ritterman said. Councilwoman Jovanka Beckles said misusing the funds would be "political suicide," and Councilman Tom Butt said, "The only people who are telling you the money won't be spent right is the Big Soda lobby."

All three signed a pledge Thursday to spend the money from the tax on anti-obesity programs. Barbara Stauss, a longtime resident of Atchison Village, one of the housing developments closest to the refinery, said Thursday's meeting was part of a series of public events that have helped provide residents education and resources about how best to deal with the recent fire and its aftermath. "This is a part of Richmond's healing, and it represents the progress we have made as a community," Stauss said.

By MercuryNews.com

August 17, 2012:

RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) — Nine people have sued Chevron Corp. over a California refinery fire that sent thousands to hospitals with respiratory issues and contributed to higher gasoline prices on the West Coast. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Contra Costa County Superior Court claims Chevron was grossly negligent in its handling of refinery maintenance as well as emergency response to the blaze in Richmond. The suit was filed by attorney John Burris and two colleagues on behalf of the nine people, including three children. The attorneys expect more plaintiffs to join the case and said a class-action suit is likely against Chevron. "They had information at the very outset that the pipes that were in that area were old, subject to leaks and failed to take any action accordingly," Burris has said. "That was last year, 2011." San Ramon-based Chevron said it will review the lawsuit. The area around the refinery was engulfed by a towering vapor cloud before a volatile blaze ignited on Aug. 6.

The lawsuit says some of the plaintiffs showed symptoms such as wheezing, dry heaving, seizure and difficulty breathing. The suit also asks the court to require Chevron to establish a more effective early warning system, create protocols to shut down equipment, and appoint a monitor to oversee the new protocols and equipment. The refinery produces 16 percent of the daily gasoline supply for California. The fire knocked out a unit that makes a specialized blend of cleaner burning gasoline that satisfies air quality laws in California, Oregon and Washington. Since the fire, the refinery's reduced output has helped send gas prices rising in the region, with the average price of a gallon of regular climbing above $4 in California. On Thursday, U. S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent letters to the Federal Trade Commission and the Energy Information Administration asking officials to make sure oil companies "are not taking unfair advantage of the situation to jack up prices."

By The Associated Press

August 17, 2012:

A corroded pipe that ruptured is being blamed for the Oct. 6 fire and explosion at the Co-op Refinery Complex that injured 52 people and caused $100 million in property damage and production loss. At a press conference on Thursday at the refinery, Scott Banda, CEO for Federated Co-operatives Limited, told reporters the company accepts the results of the investigation that concluded the incident was accidental. Banda said the company regrets the incident and apologizes to the citizens of Regina. With respect to the corroded pipe, he said thinning of the wall was detected when the 20-foot pipe was inspected in 2010. "Corrective actions were taken in terms of replacing some pipe, decisions were made and the protocols were followed as to how far those went," he said. "In short, something was missed," he said. No one at the company was disciplined as a result of the incident, Banda explained.

Since the fire and explosion, Banda noted the company's "outstanding safety record," but added that "clearly we can do better." Since the incident, he said the company has improved its inspection procedures because "this is not something we ever want to have happen again." The explosion happened at 2: 06 p.m. with about 400 refinery employees and 1,000 contractors working in the area. One contractor described the combustion explosion as a "huge fireball" that "went up about 250 feet in the air." By 2: 50 p.m., the fire had been contained. The contractors were working on a $1.9-billion renovation and expansion of the refinery, located in north Regina. Of the 52 people injured, 13 were sent to Regina's two hospitals. The nature of the injuries included burns, smoke inhalation, minor bruises, sprains and abrasions. Gerard Kay, deputy fire chief for the City of Regina, explained that a six-inch-diameter reactor effluent line carrying hydrogen gas, hydrogen sulphide and diesel fuel suffered a "catastrophic failure" when a 7.5-inch breach occurred due to wall thinning from internal corrosion. The leaked contents caused the explosion when encountered with multiple ignition sources and "hyper static electricity," said Kay. The fire caused four other hydrogen lines to breach, resulting in more explosions.

Besides the effect of chemicals passing through the pipe, corrosion was enhanced when a heat exchanger was cleaned in 2008, which caused the temperature of the substance to increase by about 10 C. Normally, the substance is about 177 C, said Mark Simpson, superintendent of equipment integrity and engineering for the refinery. He estimated the pipe was installed in 1961. The fire damaged an 11,700-square-foot area of the refinery, including the compressor building and the processing area where the explosion occurred. Piping has been replaced in the area or deemed to be in good condition. Banda admitted the $100 million in damages and production loss is substantial. Prior to the explosion, 42,000 litres of diesel was being produced a day. As a result of the incident, the company lost 20 per cent of its diesel production. Banda said he doesn't expect the two processing units that were affected by the explosion to be operational until November.

On May 15, another fire broke out at the refinery when an oil pump overheated and ignited crude oil, setting a building on fire. The incident caused $5 million in damage.

By CalgaryHerald

August 17, 2012:

Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp has sold a second spot gasoline cargo for September, traders said on Friday, restoring overall trade volume back to normal levels after a series of outages and maintenance work at its refinery units. Asia's fifth largest refinery has sold around 250,000 barrels of 93-octane gasoline this week for second-half September lifting from Mailiao port, but details of the price levels and buyer were not known. "They are sold out for September where spot gasoline cargoes are concerned and may also have two spot cargoes for October," said a trader. This latest spot sale came slightly more than a week after it had sold 250,000 barrels of the same grade, but for first-half September loading at premiums of about $2 a barrel to Singapore 92-octane quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Formosa had stopped all spot gasoline sales from May-August as its residual fluid catalytic crackers were either under maintenance or had to be shut due to outages. Most of its refinery units, with the exception of a base-oil unit which is under planned maintenance, are up and running.

Throughput at its 540,000 barrels per day (bpd) plant is expected to increase 5.5 percentage points to 92.5 percent in September versus this month. It usually exports 1.78 million barrels to 2.0 million barrels of gasoline a month on a spot and contract basis.

By Reuters

REAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) - An Indiana company has reached an agreement to buy an oil refinery in Great Falls from a Canadian firm. Calumet Specialty Product Partners has announced it is buying the Montana Refining Co. from Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd. for between $155 million and $170 million. The Great Falls Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/PrQO0C ) Montana Refining produces gasoline, asphalt and middle distillates which are marketed primarily in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Alberta, Canada. It has the capacity to process up to 9,800 barrels of oil per day.

Montana Refining employs about 110 workers in Great Falls. Vice p0resident of refining operations Dana Leach says the sale would not bring any immediate changes to the refinery. Calumet operates six plants, including an oil refinery in Wisconsin. The company says the sale is expected to close in October.

By vcstar.com