The Ripple Effect Of Refinery Fires

Production Breakdowns Push Gas Costs Higher Across Industry

In February, fire broke out at a 74-year-old oil refinery in the heart of the Texas Panhandle.

At about 2 o’clock on a Friday afternoon, liquid propane escaped from storage tanks, formed a vapor cloud and ignited. Within minutes, buttresses that held pipes 25 to 30 feet above the ground collapsed, spilling more fuel on the fire. Three 1-ton cylinders of toxic chlorine gas were damaged. A dozen people were injured, one critically.


The accident also put a dent in the nation’s gasoline supplies. It was the fourth fire at a Valero Energy oil refinery this year and one of a dozen to have hit U.S. refineries since Jan. 1.

The rash of fires and other breakdowns, known euphemistically in the industry as “unplanned outages,” helps explain why motor-fuel prices have soared 36 percent this year. With the U.S. oil refinery industry already stretched thin, breakdowns and maintenance shutdowns have drained gasoline inventories just when the nation’s refiners would usually be ramping up for the summer driving season.

Washington Post