Valero refinery in Texas City just lost power

Just got this text as I was browsing ATS before bed:

This is Texas City Emergency Management. Valero Texas City has lost power to an SRU unit and a large plume of gas is being released. Shelter in place.

Source is the text message I received by signing up here.

Will update the thread when news stories appear.



A bit about the plant in question:

* Dates to 1908, and revamped and expanded several times since then
* Major expansions include 100,000-barrel-per day gas oil hydrotreater and 40,000-barrel-per-day residual oil solvent extraction unit in 1996, and 45,000-barrel-per-day delayed cokers in 2003
* One of three Gulf Coast refineries acquired with the purchase of Basis Petroleum in 1997
* Total feedstock throughput capacity of approximately 245,000 barrels per day
* Produces a wide range of petroleum products including fuel gas, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, * * * No. 2 fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs), propylene and No. 6 fuel oil
* Located on 290 acres with 4,700 feet of Texas City * * Ship Channel frontage that has approximately 39 feet of water depth
* Site provides flexibility to receive feedstocks and ship products by tanker
* Product shipping is done by pipeline and truck
* Access to the Colonial, Explorer and TEPPCO pipelines for distribution of refined products to numerous markets
* Connected to the Valero Houston Refinery by pipeline
* Employs approximately 480 individuals

Valero

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

It's hitting the news now. So it appears the Alerts you are signed up for did in fact alert you about 15 minutes before it came across the net, points in favor of the alert system! Also, had you not been signed up, you still wouldn't know because who sits around waiting for breaking news in their city?

Good luck mate, maybe turn off your AC and keep the doors and windows closed.

Galveston Daily News

TEXAS CITY -- Valero's Texas City refinery lost power early this morning causing the release of some sort of gas, city merge end management officials said. Because of the gas plume the Texas City Director or Homeland Security Derek Duckett ordered a shelter in place for the city. Under the order residents should stay indoors, close all doors and windows and turn off their air conditioners. The Daily News has been unable to confirm what type of gas was released. The release is coming from Valero's sulfur recovery unit, Duckett said. This is a developing story and will be updated as details become available.

a reply to: Ameilia

Yep, I was just coming to post that article.

Our A/C is a closed system and doesn't take in outside air, s we luckily don' have to do without in the Texas heat.

That alert system is great and has come in handy more than once.

A thread I made 3 years ago was also a result of the same system.

It also alerts us to severe weather and other situations.

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

Hmm I wonder what the odds are they would be issuing warnings about ISIS and the border and than this. Also did they ever find that tanker. Hopefully it is nothing and everything is fine.

after searching for this topic, it seems its not an uncommon thing for this refinery to lose power. I found several articles over the last few years discussing power outages. So maybe this is normal for this refinery?

www.google.com...:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a&channel=sb

a reply to: megabogie


You would think they would have a safety shut off system in place just in case of power outage. Hopefully it is nothing and everybody is OK.

a reply to: SubTruth

I know zilch about refineries but I would hope you're right. Best of luck to Jaded & Cynical...hope it's just a routine thing and all goes back to normal.

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

Update frim the city:

Shelter in place still in effect due to a gas plume from Valero Texas City. Stay indoors with your AC units off. I will continue to update you on the situation.

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

And just now:

Valero Texas City has declared the all clear. The shelter in place has been lifted. No further action is required on your part.

a reply to: jadedANDcynical
glad to hear it! Although it is worrisome how often this plant seems to lose power...
just wondering if that is normal for a refinery.

More from the updated GDN article:

Because of the release the Texas City Director or Homeland Security Derek Duckett ordered a shelter in place for the city that lasted for about three hours. 

The shelter in place order was lifted at about 5:45 a.m. 

Duckett said that the release was a "sour gas like ammonia and (sulfur dioxide) mix." The release came from Valero's sulfur recovery unit, he said. 

A noxious combination to be sure:

Duckett confirmed a lot of called emergency services with complaints of a bad odor. Texas City EMS transported one person to the hospital after a report of breathing problems. 

Megaboogie, you are correct:

The loss of power at the Valero refinery is nothing new. The refinery has a history of power issues that often lead to increased flaring and minor releases. Few over the years have resulted in a shelter in place order. 

The last major power outage happened in November. 

In 2011, the refinery had four major power outages and complained that Texas-New Mexico Power, the area's electrical provider, needed to make fixes to its local electrical grid system. 

The 2011 event was documented in my thread here.



I would also point out that last night's incident involved only one unit, rather than the entire refinerybas had happened in 2011.

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

Glad to hear everything is OK. Thank you OP for posting this story we need more people like you on ATS.