A fire at Marathon Petroleum Corp’s (MPC.N) 578,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) crude oil refinery in Garyville, Louisiana, was extinguished on Monday afternoon, a company spokesperson said.
The fire at the third-largest U.S. refinery by processing capacity helped drive up gasoline futures by about 3% on Monday. U.S. oil prices also rose as Russia agreed to recognize two areas in eastern Ukraine as independent.
“All employees and contract workers have been accounted for,” said Marathon spokesperson Jamal Kheiry. “Five contract workers sustained injuries, four of which were treated on-site, and one is currently being evaluated at a local healthcare facility as a precaution.”
Two sources said an explosion occurred on Monday morning in the 110,000-bpd gas oil hydrocracker, which makes diesel. Marathon was overhauling multiple units at the refinery at the time of the fire. It was unclear if work was being done on the hydrocracker.
Local media reports said the fire began after an explosion felt for miles around the plant. A nearby highway was closed for about an hour afterwards, according to law enforcement officials.
The fire broke out at 9:30 a.m. CST (1530 GMT), Kheiry said. Emergency officials in St. John the Baptist Parish said the explosion was heard at about 9 a.m. CST.
Gasoline futures traded at New York harbor rose nearly 3% to $2.747 on Monday. The average retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline hit $3.532, up from $2.63 a year ago, according to motorist travel service AAA.com.
The Garyville refinery, which completed a major expansion in 2009, can process a variety of crude oils into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and distillates. The refinery also produces asphalt, petroleum coke and feedstocks to make plastics.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Richard Chang)