Chevron Says No Major Processing Units Involved in California Refinery Fire

Chevron Says No Major Processing Units Involved in California Refinery Fire
Gas prices are advertised at a Chevron station as rising inflation and oil costs affect the consumers in Los Angeles on June 13, 2022. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

Chevron on Wednesday said an isolated fire inside its 269,000-barrel-per-day El Segundo refinery in California was extinguished on Tuesday and did not occur at any of the facility’s major processes units.

Fire crews worked quickly to contain the fire which was extinguished at about 8:35 PM (0435 GMT), a company spokesperson said in an emailed response, adding that the fire does not impact the refinery’s ability to supply petroleum products to its customers in the region.

The time of dispatch was 6:13 p.m. (0213 GMT) with a response at the two-alarm level from El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Los Angeles County fire departments, El Segundo fire chief Deena Lee said on Tuesday.

The El Segundo refinery supplies 20% of all motor vehicle fuels and 40% of the jet fuel consumed in southern California, according to Chevron’s website.

The incident comes at a time when California gasoline prices are approaching $1 a gallon on top of December NYMEX RBOB futures amid planned work at Marathon’s 363,000-bpd Los Angeles Refinery and a power blip at Valero’s 145,000-bpd San Francisco plant.

By Seher Dareen