Port Arthur refinery brought down by minor leak

One of the largest oil refineries in the US has been toppled by caustic spills, which have eroded the newly built crude distillation unit (CDU) which was constructed to double capacity at the oil refinery.

The leak occurred three weeks ago as workers repaired a minor leak at the Port Arthur, Texas plant owned by Motiva Enterprises. During the routine work, a few gallons a day of so-called "caustic" was inadvertently seeping into the newly built crude distillation unit (CDU), which is a 30-story-high network of interconnected cylinders and latticed pipelines at the heart of the refining process, Reuters have reported.

Although it would be harmless when mixed with crude, the mixture turned into an invisible but devastating agent of corrosion as the chamber heated up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit (370 Celsius). This fouled huge heaters and corroded thousands of feet of stainless steel pipe, which will lead to a multi-million repair just weeks after its completion.

Reuters' Erwin Seba called the leak a "potentially billion-dollar glitch that has added an embarrassing and costly coda to a landmark $10 billion (6.41 billion pounds) expansion".

On analysis of reports, the news agency found that the incident that has crippled the plant is down to seemingly minor glitches. Motiva has yet to release details on the event, but insider reports estimate that it could be several months or even a year before the plant is operational again.

Motiva spokeswoman Kayla Macke confirmed the contamination, telling Reuters: "The preliminary inspection indicates that parts of the new unit have been contaminated with elevated levels of caustic."

Many areas of the plant are too hot to enter, which means that the precise level of damage will be hard to calculate. The incident went undetected for some time, and it was only when two fires broke out and a heater ruptured that operators suspected something was amiss.

As the investigation ensues, oil traders will be waiting to hear when the plant will resume operations. However, Motiva will likely be "extra-cautious" in restarting, Auers of Turner, Mason and Co said, which could mean significant delays.

Posted by Joseph Hutton