Shell Reports Equipment Problem at Martinez Refinery After Earthquake

By Dan Molinski

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB, RDSA.LN, RDSB.LN) on Tuesday said an earthquake caused equipment issues and above-normal flaring of gases at its Martinez refinery in northern California.

"During the earthquake a compressor tripped causing a flaring incident, " the refinery said in a statement to the California Emergency Management Agency.

Another area refinery, Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s (MPC) Martinez refinery, also had operational problems due to the earthquake, which was a moderate, 4.5-magnitude tremor that struck near Pleasant Hill, Calif. at around 10:30 p.m. local time Monday night.

Shell said some 562 pounds of sulfur dioxide was released after the quake, and said the release has since been stopped and contained.

The 157,000-barrel-a-day Shell refinery is located 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. In June, PBF Energy Inc. (PBF) announced its plan to purchase the Martinez refinery from Shell for between $900 million and $1 billion in a sale expected to close by the end this year.

Write to Dan Molinski at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 15, 2019 14:28 ET (18:28 GMT)

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