Power outage forces Valero to halt production at Aruba refinery

Earlier today we posted an article from Amigoe, Water will not be disconnected; electricity, not sure.   The article discussed the possible temporary shut down of power on Friday in conjunction with the strikes that were taking place in Aruba.   

The vice-chairman of UEA, the union for Elmar indicated this morning that chances are that the power supply will be temporarily disconnected on Friday.  “If this evening it turns out that the action didn’t produce the desired result, than consider the above a fact.”  Water- and Electricity Company (WEB) does not anticipate problems with the water supply on Friday.  

We learn tonight that the Valero Refinery suffered a series of power outages today causing the entire refinery to shut down. One would hope that this incident had nothing to do with the initial article.Its results in more not so good news for the Aruban economy coupled with the present situation they find themselves in as a result of a declining tourism.

It generates all its own electrical power, steam, fuel gas, hydrogen and desalinated water. It receives only limited support from the island utility system, Brown says.

Valero will lose 80,000 barrels per day of diesel and jet fuel, 30,000 barrels per day of naphtha and 110,000 barrels per day of gas oil — virtually all of it bound for the United States. The refinery does not manufacture any finished gasoline.

Valero expects partial operations to b back in one week. However, they do not expect to be operating at normal rates until three weeks.

Valero Energy Corp. officials said Friday that the company’s refinery in Aruba suffered a series of power outages that caused the entire facility to shut down.

There were no injuries nor any environmental impacts to the island. Valero spokeswoman Mary Rose Brown says refinery officials are still investigating the cause of the power failure. Refinery workers are evaluating the status of the refinery units and are beginning the recommissioning process.

The company’s Aruba refinery has a total throughput capacity of 275,000 barrels per day. It has the most complex utility system within Valero’s refining system. It generates all its own electrical power, steam, fuel gas, hydrogen and desalinated water. It receives only limited support from the island utility system, Brown says.

Valero will lose 80,000 barrels per day of diesel and jet fuel, 30,000 barrels per day of naphtha and 110,000 barrels per day of gas oil — virtually all of it bound for the United States. The refinery does not manufacture any finished gasoline.

The company expects to restore the refinery to partial operations within a week, she adds. However, because it does not have access to large public utilities as the company does in the United States, Valero does not expect the refinery to be operating at normal rates until three weeks.

San Antonio-based Valero (NYSE: VLO) owns and operates 18 refineries in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It has a total throughput capacity of 3.3 million barrels per day, making it the largest refiner in North America.

(San Antonio Business Journal)