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U.S. NEWS Saturday 22 June 2019

Explosions, fire rock

U.S. oil refinery; gas

prices could rise

By MATT ROURKE to shut it off. If firefighters
Associated Press extinguished the blaze, the
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ex- gases would continue to
plosions and a blaze at bleed into the atmosphere,
the largest oil refinery on he said.
the East Coast sent a fire- "It is safer if it burns itself
ball into the sky and shook out; otherwise the product
homes before dawn Friday, would be looking for an
though authorities reported ignition source," he said.
only a few minor injuries "Right now, it is contained
and said the air was safe to and controlled."
breathe. Air samples taken both
The fire at the Philadelphia downwind and upwind
Energy Solutions Refining from the refinery have
Complex was deemed been tested, and no threat
contained and controlled to public safety has been Flames and smoke emerge from the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex in Philadel-
but continued to burn found, the city's health de- phia, Friday, June 21, 2019.
late Friday afternoon, said partment said in a state- Associated Press
Craig Murphy, deputy fire ment.
commissioner. The 150-year-old oil refining port.
The fire broke out around complex processes 335,000 "I noticed the sky light up
4 a.m., PES spokeswoman barrels of crude oil daily, orange ahead of us for
Cherice Corley said. Video PES says. The refinery turns maybe 5 or 6 seconds," he
showed the enormous or- the crude into gasoline, jet said.
ange blast bursting into the fuel, propane, home heat- Triboletti said he even felt
sky about 20 minutes later. ing oil and other products. the heat in the car.
Five refinery workers were It was the second blaze "It kind of made our skin
treated for minor injuries, at the refinery this month, crawl a little bit because
and nearby residents were following a June 10 fire in we didn't know what was
asked to stay inside. which no injuries were re- going on. It was something
The cause of the fire was ported. you normally see in a movie
still unclear. Three explo- Gasoline prices in the theater," he said.
sions, felt miles away, went Northeast could rise over It's unknown whether the
off as the fire worked its the next few weeks as a explosions will cause any
way through the tangle of result of the explosion, but financial strain the oil mar-
pipes carrying fuel across an increase isn't likely to last kets.
the complex, Corley said. long, said Claudio Galim- "This is obviously not a good
It happened at the Girard berti, a refining analyst at thing to happen in a jittery
Point refinery, one of two at S&P Global Platts. market, but U.S. refined
the PES complex in south- Thick black smoke billowed product demand has been
ern Philadelphia. across the city after the fire relatively weak," said Jim
The fire happened at a started. Burkhard, vice president
tank containing a mix of Jonathan Triboletti, of for oil markets at IHS Markit.
butane and propane, Mur- Hammonton, New Jersey, "So this is a disruption, but
phy said. The blaze was still saw that smoke and the it's probably not going to
being fed by a main, he explosion when he and his cause major problems in
said, but it was unsafe for mother were driving to the a market that is generally
workers to access the valve nearby Philadelphia Air- well supplied."q