Marathon Petroleum Partially Closing Louisiana Oil Refinery Due to Fire

Marathon Petroleum said it is shutting some of the units at its Garyville, La., refinery as it works to fully extinguish a fire that broke out Friday morning.

The partial shutdown of the refinery, which at nearly 600,000 barrels a day of crude-refining capacity makes it one of the nation's largest refineries, is causing gasoline and diesel fuel prices to trade sharply higher in futures markets. Diesel futures settled 4.8% higher Friday at $3.31 a gallon, the highest closing price since Jan. 26.

"Out of an abundance of caution, the facility began a shutdown process of units closest to the fire this morning," Marathon said in an emailed statement. "As the fire-suppression efforts continue to progress, facility operations will continue to be evaluated, with safety as our top priority."

The fire broke out in an area where crude oil and fuels are stored in massive, circular tanks. Local television footage showed two of the huge tanks fully engulfed in fire, with flames and thick black smoke shooting several stories into the air while two water cannons within the plant tried to douse the flames.

A cause of the fire is unknown, but Marathon said an investigation is under way. An earlier statement from the refinery indicated there was also a leak of naphtha, a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture, but it isn't clear if that had anything to with causing the fire.

"The fire is currently under control and has remained within the common containment-dike area of two tanks on the refinery's property," it said, noting the fire isn't out completely yet. "Both tanks have sustained damage."

Marathon said one firefighter was being evaluated for heat stress, but reported no other injuries.

As a precaution, St. John the Baptist Parish required its residents living within a two-mile radius of the part of the refinery closest to the fire to temporarily evacuate to locations made available by the Parish.

The Garyville refinery is located along the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and according to Marathon's website, the plant has a crude-oil refining capacity of 596,000 barrels per calendar day.

Write to Dan Molinski at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 25, 2023 16:28 ET (20:28 GMT)

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