Citgo Reports Emissions From Corpus Christi Refinery Yesterday

By Aaron Clark

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Citgo Petroleum Corp., the U.S. refiner owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, reported emissions and said all process units at the Corpus Christi, Texas, West Plant, “were taken to a minimum charge.”

Loose wiring may have triggered a remote shutdown of the “A” sulfur train late yesterday, a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality showed. “The subsequent diverting and re-establishing of Acid Gas caused the Incinerator to shut down on loss of flame signal.”

“All the West Plant Process units were taken to minimum charge in order to minimize emissions,” the filing showed. Citgo cut processing rates at a coker to reduce the workload of a sulfur-recovery unit Feb. 25, according to a separate filing.

The refinery can process 165,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Clark in New York at aclark27@bloomberg.net