Exclusive-Valero partially restarts Port Arthur, Texas refinery after blast, sources say

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON, April ‌16 (Reuters) - Valero ​Energy ​Corp has partially restarted its 380,000 barrel-per-day Port Arthur, Texas refinery following a March 23 explosion and ‌fire, said two people familiar with plant operations.

While ⁠the production line from the 115,000-bpd AVU 147 crude distillation unit (CDU) is ‌operating, Valero is repairing the ‌heater in the 210,000-bpd AVU-146 CDU, keeping that production line shut.

A Valero spokesperson did not reply to a request ​for comment.

During inspection of the refinery’s units following the March 23 shutdown of the refinery because of the ⁠fire, Valero discovered a damaged tube in AVU-146’s heater. Once the heater tube is ​repaired, Valero plans to restart the CDU.

The AVU-146 crude distillation unit accounts for 2% of crude oil ​refining capacity in the U.S. ‌Gulf Coast states of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, which contain 9.62 million bpd or over half ⁠of the U.S. total. In Texas alone, AVU-146’s capacity is 3.4% of the state’s total of 6.13 million bpd in atmospheric crude ⁠distillation capacity.

CDUs operate at atmospheric pressure breaking down crude oil into feedstocks ​for all other units at a refinery.

No injuries were reported from the March 23 explosion and fire in diesel hydrotreater, but one person ‌has filed a lawsuit, alleging he was injured when knocked to the ground. Valero has previously ‌declined to comment about the lawsuit.

The price of diesel went ⁠up 16 cents a ‌barrel on the day ​following the explosion because of the refinery's shutdown.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Nathan Crooks and Nick ‌Zieminski)

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