BP Works on Carson, California, Refinery’s Coker Unit (Update1)
2008-05-29 19:11 (New York)
By Samantha Zee
May 29 (Bloomberg) — BP Plc, Europe’s second-largest oil
company by market value, is conducting maintenance at its
Carson, California, refinery, involving a coker unit and an
exchanger, a person familiar with the plant’s operations said.
The maintenance was planned, which means there shouldn’t be
any impact on refinery production, said the person, who declined
to be identified. The heat exchanger is on the coker unit, and
total coking capacity at Carson is 71,000 barrels a day.
Earlier today, a compressor malfunctioned because of a
power fluctuation at the refinery, which resulted in unplanned
flaring, the person said. The compressor was quickly restarted.
The flaring, or burning of chemicals, began about 1:22 p.m.
local time and was expected to last through about 2 p.m.
tomorrow, according to a notice from the South Coast Air Quality
Management District.
The company doesn’t comment on specific incidents or on
refinery operations, said Valerie Corr, a BP spokeswoman.
Spokesman Scott Dean also declined further comment.
The Carson refinery, the second-largest in California, can
process 265,500 barrels of oil a day, according to the U.S.
Energy Department. Chevron Corp.’s El Segundo refinery is the
state’s largest.
*T
To contact the reporter on this story:
Samantha Zee in Los Angeles at +1-323-782-4249 or
szee@bloomberg.net.
