2nd El Segundo Refinery Fire Keeps Chevron Production Slowed

The second fire at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery in a month will curtail production by one-third for two more weeks, the spokesman for Southern California’s largest refinery said.

The most recent fire, which burned for three hours Sunday night, struck a refinery installation that had been disabled by a more serious fire Nov. 17. The earlier fire caused $7 million in damage that took four weeks to repair, according to Chevron spokesman Rod Spackman. No injuries were reported in either fire, he added.

Spackman said the refinery, which processes an average of 250,000 barrels of crude oil a day, had been running at two-thirds capacity during the monthlong repairs. Because of the second fire, Spackman said the refinery will continue to run at reduced capacity, but he doesn’t expect any layoffs because of it.

He declined to say how much money Chevron would lose as a result of the six-week cutback.

Spackman said Sunday’s fire occurred in the No. 4 crude distillation unit as Chevron officials were restarting it by bringing it up to normal operating temperature, pressure and volume.

Refinery officials tentatively blamed a sudden change in temperature for causing a flange on a heat exchanger to separate, Spackman explained. The reason for the sudden change is unknown, he said.

Crude oil that had been heated to about 400 degrees escaped from the loosened flange and ignited spontaneously once exposed to air, he said.

No damage estimates were available for the Sunday fire, which was confined to the heat exchanger. Damage was far less extensive than in the earlier fire.

Chevron officials said the November fire occurred because a pump bearing, which showed no signs of deterioration when it was tested a month earlier, mysteriously disintegrated.

Refinery officials are conducting an investigation into the causes of both fires, Spackman said, adding they don’t believe sabotage or arson is involved.