Mobil Refinery Burns Off Excess Gases

Flaring of excess gases at Mobil Oil’s Torrance refinery Wednesday created a black cloud visible for miles, but air quality officials said the incident did not pose a safety risk and would probably not warrant penalties.

Mobil burned off the gases to relieve pressure that had accumulated at the refinery when a fuel line to the Edison power station in Redondo Beach was shut down, South Coast Air Quality District spokeswoman Paula Levy said. The fuel line was closed after Edison discovered a fuel leak at its plant, she said.

The flarings, carried out in three 10-second bursts between 2:15 and 2:30 p.m., will probably not result in penalties because they were intended as a safety measure, said Levy, whose agency sent an inspector to the refinery.

Mobil spokesman Barry Engelberg described the incident as “a minor blip.” “It’s not an incident we would consider major,” he said.