The nation's second-largest independent refiner shut all processing units at March Point on Thursday, after a deadly fire on April 2 killed 7 workers. Tesoro had announced on April 12 that it would close the plant for an indefinite period of time.
Tesoro had announced that all refinery employees would remain on paid leave during the temporary shutdown.
Tesoro chairman and chief executive Bruce Smith told analysts that he had no new information about the April 2 fire that erupted from a heat exchanger near a naphtha hydrotreater. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board and Washington state workplace safety regulators are investigating.
"The cause is still unknown," Smith said. "We have diverted the crude cargoes that were scheduled to arrive there to other refineries. We have been supplying our transportation fuel customers with product from third parties," Smith said.
Refinery shutdown could last until June 30
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