15 Apr Martinez Refinery Says Flaring May Continue Through Next Week as Units Restart Following Fire

Flames and smoke billow from the Martinez Refining Company on Feb. 1. The fire broke out amid flaring, or the burning of excess gas that occurs during equipment shutdowns or malfunctions. (Tony Hicks/Bay City News)

By Tony Hicks
Bay City News

Martinez Refining Company said Tuesday morning that flaring that prompted Level 1 community warnings Sunday and Monday may continue through next week.

On April 3, the refinery began the process of restarting some of its process units shut down after a Feb. 1 fire that injured six workers and burned for three days.

The units being restarted now weren’t in the area in which the fire broke out. Refinery officials said the fire released 170 barrels — 7,140 gallons — of hydrocarbon materials, most of which they said were consumed by the flames. The blaze prompted the refinery to shut down all operations.

Refinery manager Daniel Ingram said in a March 13 public forum that MRC, which is owned by PBF Energy Inc., hopes to rebuild the destroyed area and reopen it by the fourth quarter of this year.

MRC reported flaring at 12:24 p.m. Sunday, prompting Contra Costa Health to send out a community awareness message. More flaring at 11:55 a.m. Monday caused another community awareness message to be sent.

In both cases, the message said “A Level 1 Community Awareness Message has been reported to CCHealth by Martinez Refining Company, located in Martinez. This message is for informational purposes only. You may hear, smell, or see signs related to this event; however no action is required. For more information, please visit CCHealth’s Hazmat Dashboard at https://cchealth.org/hazdash.”

According to the county health agency, a Level 1 warning means there’s odor or audible impact, flaring lasting longer than 20 minutes, or other non-flaring visual impact.

The refinery said on social media Tuesday, “We anticipate the restart process will continue through early next week, during which there continues to be potential for intermittent flaring. We are working diligently to minimize flaring and will only flare if necessary for safety and reliability reasons.”

MRC said flares are an essential part of a refinery’s integrated, engineered safety systems, which are designed to safely manage excess gases and pressure through efficient, effective combustion. People can find more information about the flaring at https://martinezrefiningcompany.com/about-flaring.

Anyone with questions can call the refinery at (925) 313-3777 or (925) 313-3601 after hours.

People can also see real-time fence line air measurements at MRC’s air monitoring page at http://www.fenceline.org/martinez/.

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