Flaring Incident at Delaware City Refinery
DELAWARE CITY DE (8/10/08) The refinerys fluid coking unit wet gas compressors malfunctioned on August 10, 2008, resulting in a flaring incident and noise complaints at the refinery. However, the coker’s carbon monoxide boiler and wet gas scrubber train were not bypassed and the coking unit itself is believed to be operating within its permitted limits. The flaring is presently ongoing. It is anticipated that a compressor will be repaired and returned to service by August 11, 2008 which should stop the flaring. DNREC is currently investigating the incident. For more information on the incident at the refinery, please contact the Divisions site engineers, Ravi Rangan and Bruce Steltzer, at (302) 323-4542.
A public hearing on The Premcor Refining Group, Inc.s Construction Permits for the “Upgrade and Optimization Project” will be held at 6 PM next Monday, August 18, at the Delaware City Library at 250 Fifth Street in Delaware City. The “Upgrade and Optimization Project” is for the upgrade and optimization of the crude unit, fluid coking unit and other improvements at the Delaware City Refinery.
For additional information on the public hearing, please contact Joanna Austin at (302) 739-9402, or visit: http://www.delaware.gov/eGov/Calendar.nsf/Meetings/6066D332061724C885257489004FCEB1?open.
For additional information on the Upgrade and Optimization Project, please visit: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Lists/Public%20Notices/DispForm.aspx?ID=63&Source=http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Lists/Public%2520Notices/AllItems.aspx.
Unrelated to the flaring incident, The Premcor Refining Group Inc. paid a $22,000 administrative penalty for exceedances of Delawares ambient air quality standards (AAQS) for Total Suspended Particulate Matter at the refinery during the first quarter of 2008. Current petroleum coke storage and handling practices created emissions that caused two exceedances of the primary standard and four exceedances of the secondary standard.