Massive fire closes major US oil refinery – Gas expert predicts widespread consequences.
Fire Shuts Down One of the Largest Oil Refineries in the US – Gas Expert Warns of ‘Far-Reaching Impact’
A massive fire broke out at Marathon Petroleum’s Garyville refinery in Louisiana, causing the plant to shut down and leading to a surge in diesel prices.
The fire, along with a leak of the hydrocarbon mixture naphtha, occurred on Friday morning, according to WDSU-TV in New Orleans.
After three days, the fire was finally extinguished on Monday, as reported by NOLA.com.
The blaze prompted an evacuation order within a two-mile radius, as stated by The Wall Street Journal.
Incredible new aerial video shared with WBRZ shows an up-close look at the fire raging at the Marathon refinery in Garyville, Louisiana.
Evacuation details and more here: https://t.co/fjhpHH6jFW pic.twitter.com/m4hd7m7utu
— WBRZ News (@WBRZ) August 25, 2023
The shutdown resulted in a significant increase in futures prices for gasoline and diesel fuel. Diesel futures closed 4.8 percent higher at $3.31 a gallon, marking the highest price since January 26.
The fire was contained on Saturday, and the evacuation order was lifted, according to CNN.
Marathon’s Garyville refinery is the third-largest in the United States in terms of capacity, as reported by Reuters.
Bloomberg noted that this fire was the third incident at the plant in less than a year.
Oil prices are flat but refining cracks are coming in. Natural gas prices are up after Australian LNG facility strikes appear more likely. A fire at Marathon’s Garyville refinery on Friday caused diesel to rip 16cpg higher. #OOTT
— StoneXEnergyKC (@EnergyKc) August 28, 2023
UPDATE: Source confirms to GasBuddy that MPC has begun a shutdown of some units at its Garyville refinery, closest to the fire. https://t.co/WOjnGCsKZu
— Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) August 25, 2023
“This refinery is one of the largest in the US and if accurate, could cause a low, yet far-reaching impact to #gasprices,” warned Patrick De Haan, an analyst for the website Gas Buddy, on social media.
According to CNN, Marathon officials confirmed that the fuel tank was not on fire.
New video shows the fire at the Marathon Petroleum refinery in Garyville remains intense. @FOX8NOLA pic.twitter.com/eTerA3tjjQ
— Zack Fradella (@ZackFradellaWx) August 25, 2023
“The tank itself is not on fire,” said Justin Lawrence, the human resources manager for the plant. “It is the product surrounding the tank.”
Lawrence explained that the tank contained a naphtha product, which is used as a component to make gasoline.
“Initially, it was kind of a lazy flame, and we were putting foam on it to keep the fumes and the fire down to keep it contained,” Lawrence said. “As it picks up and this morning as the day gets hotter, it did reignite and there’s been spots where it is harder to control.”
The post Huge Fire Shuts Down One of the Largest Oil Refineries in the US – Gas Expert Warns of ‘Far-Reaching Impact’ appeared first on The Western Journal.
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