The Delaware City refinery shutdown of its Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit is making headlines in a period of plunging crude oil prices.
The incident on Friday led to flaring of gas and a small fire after a compressor malfunction.
Reuters, citing unnamed sources, said the unit could be down for some time and possibility affect gas prices on the East Coast. The company could also opt to move up scheduled maintenance that had been slated for next year.
While a rather small refinery by industry standards, it does supply 14 percent of gasoline on the East Coast, the news service reported in the story. That could slow down a decline in gas prices in the region.
AAA Mid-Atlantic, Wilmington, reported the price of regular gas had dropped about six cents during the past week to $2.37 a gallon.
Delaware City is the flagship property of PBF Energy, which has other refineries in Paulsboro, NJ and Toledo, Ohio. The company also plans to acquire a refinery outside New Orleans that is about the same size as Delaware City.
No injuries were reported and the fire has been extinguished. The appropriate public officials and government agencies have been notified, the company stated.
The company is continuing to monitor and assess the situation in order to properly evaluate the impact of the incident, a release tated. The refinery continues to operate its unaffected units at reduced rates, according to a statement.
The fire was reported early Friday afternoon. The Delaware City Fire Co. responded to the fire. The refinery also has its own firefighting unit.
Refineries are prone to flaring and sometimes fires, due to the high pressures and complexities of refining. Delaware City also handles many grades of crude oil.
The Delaware City Refinery, until the outage, had performed well this year, as noted in the second quarter report of PBF Energy.
