Oil refinery catches fire in Northern California
Jeremy Hobson: A major refinery for Chevron caught fire in California last night. The fire has been contained, but it’s still burning.
And as Marketplace’s Eve Troeh reports, one less refinery won’t be helpful when it comes to gas prices.
Eve Troeh: Explosions were reportedly heard last night at Chevron’s Richmond refinery, and the facility went up in flames. Only one employee was reported injured. But black smoke choked the sky for miles around the plant. Residents were warned to stay inside. Some evacuated of their own accord. The fire has been contained. Chevron is still investigating the source of the incident. State regulators say it could take months to repair the refinery.
Juli Niemann at Smith and Moore advisors says in other parts of the country demand is down, and this might not be such a big deal. But…
Juli Niemann: California has pretty steady demand for gasoline, and so when you take out the big Richmond California refinery, this is going to cause prices on the West Coast to definitely go up for the time being.
Oil and gas refineries have been at capacity for some time now. Older ones have been taken offline, over issues of pollution and operating costs. And as for building new ones? Well, Niemann says, no one wants a new refinery in their back yard.
I’m Eve Troeh for Marketplace.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
