By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, June 15 -- Ultramar Ltd., Montreal, is investigating the cause of a fire and resulting explosion June 14 at its 215,000 b/d Jean Gaulin refinery at Lévis (Saint-Romuald), near Quebec City.
The fire occurred when crews restarted a unit that had been closed during a major maintenance shutdown. The affected unit was not identified. Work on the refinery, one of Canada's largest, had been under way for the past 2 months.
No injuries were reported, and employees returned to the site after the fire was extinguished and facilities inspected thoroughly.
Ultramar, the Canadian unit of Valero Energy Corp., San Antonio, said tank-truck loading racks are now operational. "All units are started up or are in the process of starting up," said spokeswoman Mary Rose Brown. "There is no impact to production, as the refinery has been in a turnaround. Start-up is not expected to be delayed."
Richard Boucher, the refinery's vice-president and general manager, said the cause of the fire and explosion is still undetermined. "We are still assessing the extent of the damage to our facilities," he said.