Chevron has begun an investigation into what caused a fire late Thursday at a processing unit in the company's 290,000 b/d refinery near Los Angeles, a company spokesman said on Friday.
The spokesman also said the company is working with federal and local agencies and is providing updates to the California Energy Commission.
Chevron's health safety and environmental team has been conducting air monitoring in communities near the El Segundo facility as a precautionary measure, the spokesman added.
The company told California Governor's Office of Emergency Services the fire began at the refinery's Isomax unit shortly after 9:30 p.m. local time. The Isomax plant was evacuated shortly after the fire broke out, it added. The Isomax catalytic cracking unit is used to turn heavy feedstocks into jet fuel, according to the refinery's website.
Chevron's El Segundo refinery represents more than 16% of the state's total refining capacity, according to CEC data.
The damage to the Chevron refinery comes after Phillips 66 on Wednesday said its 156,000 b/d Los Angeles refinery received its final waterborne crude shipment on Tuesday and the company expects to halt crude processing at the facility on or about Oct. 16.
Phillips 66, which in October 2024 announced that it planned to close the facility by the end of this year, late last month said it would begin shutting units at the facility in September.
Valero Energy earlier this year said it plans to close its 150,000 b/d Benicia refinery in northern California at the end of April. Combined, Phillips 66 and Valero account for about 17% of California's crude oil refining capacity.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Bayan Raji, braji@opinset.com and Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-03-25 1553ET
