TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Officials say crews have contained a large fire at a Tulsa oil refinery that caused a loud explosion overnight and that could be seen from miles away.
Refinery owner HollyFrontier Corp. says all workers are accounted for and no one was injured in the early Thursday blaze. Neighbors told local news outlets they were woken by a loud explosion before 3 a.m.
The company says the fire started in the diesel hydrotreater unit at its Tulsa East refinery. It says its emergency response team contained the fire and that the community isn't at risk.
HollyFrontier is based in Dallas and operates four other refineries in Kansas, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. It says on its website that the Tulsa refinery has a daily crude oil capacity of 125,000 barrels.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
Statement from HOLLY REFINING AND MARKETING on fire incident.
Shortly after 2:00 a.m. a fire occurred on the Diesel Hydrotreater unit at the Tulsa East refinery location. The fire is currently contained on-site by the Holly Emergency Response Team. All personnel are accounted for and there are no reported injuries. Perimeter monitoring shows no risk to the surrounding community. A full investigation will be completed to determine the cause of the fire.
Media Release Update from Holly Refining Tulsa
12:20 p.m. distribution
Holly Refining & Marketing - Tulsa today announced that it experienced a fire at the Diesel Hydrotreater (the unit that removes sulfur from diesel fuel) at the Company’s Tulsa East Refinery shortly after 2:00 AM this morning. The fire was isolated to the processing area around the Diesel Hydrotreater at the Tulsa East plant and is now extinguished. The Tulsa West plant was not affected by the fire.
The fire was contained by our Emergency Response Team. Tulsa Fire Department was on-call to support our team but have since been released. The cause of the fire, extent of the damage, and the impact on Tulsa East operations are currently being investigated. There is no risk to the surrounding community.
Safety is our number one priority and we practice regular response drills and training for situations like this and as a result, the fire was immediately contained.
“While we are investigating the cause of the fire, safety is our number one goal – safety for our employees, fire team and surrounding neighbors,” said Tony Conetta, VP & Refinery Manager. “We appreciate the Tulsa Fire Department’s standby support.”
The Company will provide an update when more information is available.