Chevron Corp. said it would repair and restart the damaged central crude distillation unit at its 245,000 barrel per day (bpd) Richmond, California, refinery by the first quarter of 2013. In a letter sent to California pollution regulators, Chevron Richmond Refinery General Manager Nigel Hearne wrote, “We are optimistic we can complete our planned repairs and be in a position to restart the Crude Unit by first quarter of 2013.”
The shutdown of the CDU after a fire on August 6 at the Richmond refinery caused a spike in West Coast gasoline prices and a further tightening of supply to California, the nation’s largest gasoline market. California is geographically isolated from refining centers on the Gulf Coast and in the Midwest.
Hearne wrote that in addition to the repairs on the areas damaged by the fire, Chevron will “install new valves, flanges, connectors, pressure relief devices, pumps and compressors in the Crude Unit, and reduce the total number of these components, thereby reducing fugitive emissions.” Additionally, Chevron will install new pollution controls in the cooling tower.
Since the blaze, Chevron has been using feedstocks to supply its production units, which manufactured motor fuels at around 50% of its capacity.
Initial refining of crude oil coming into the refinery was done at the No. 4 CDU. The unit also supplied feedstock to all other units.
Chevron’s letter came on the same day another company, Alon USA Energy, announced the shutdown of its three refineries in California, which have a combined refining capacity of 94,000 bpd. (November 8, 2012)