Fire shuts Giant's New Mexico refinery
Date: 13-Apr-04
Country: USA
"We had a fire in the alkylation unit," said Mark Cox, chief financial officer at Giant. "The refinery is in shutdown mode while we go through and assess."
Cox and Gallup Fire Department officials said six employees at the Ciniza refinery suffered third-degree burns, with four being taken to hospital by emergency personnel and two others transporting themselves.
The spokesman said it was too early to estimate when any of the refinery units would be restarted or what the financial effects would be. He said the damage seemed to be mostly in the alkylation unit.
"There were two explosions, but one was significant and the other minor," Andrew Carbajal, public information officer for the Gallup Fire Department, said.
"To the best of our knowledge there was no environmental danger and I-40 (Interstate Highway 40) was not shut down."
I-40 is the key highway running east-west through the middle of the state.
Carbajal said he had been told it was suspected that there was some high octane fuel involved and that liquid petroleum gas was being vented.
Giant's Cox could not confirm that, but did say that the alkylation unit does make high-octane blending stocks used in making premium gasoline.
The Ciniza refinery produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, propane, butane and heavy fuel oils.
The Four Corners region, where the states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah join borders, is the primary area served by the Ciniza refinery.
Secondary markets include metropolitan Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Northern Arizona region.
Cox said that a locally produced crude known as Four Corners Sweet is the refinery's primary feedstock.
