In a prepared statement released Monday afternoon, the company said Tesoro Corporation will temporarily curtail operations "by shutting down crude processing until treating capacity involved in the recent incident can be returned to service."
Tesoro said individual units at the refinery will begin shutting down later this month.
Tesoro said "We plan for all Tesoro employees at the facility to continue to be employed and receive full benefits."
“Tesoro is committed to our employees, the community, and our customers,” said Bruce Smith, Tesoro’s Chairman, President and CEO. “We will fulfill our commitments to them during this difficult time.”
Tesoro said the refinery has been producing primarily unfinished intermediate products that cannot be upgraded until the affected units have been returned to service or an alternate plan is developed.
Tesoro added, "All available options are being considered."
The company said, "Tesoro cannot predict when operations could resume; however, progress on the various investigations of the incident and the completion of unit repairs are both necessary for a restart." Some in the industry suggest it could be a year before operations resume.
Tesoro Refinery sets temporary shutdown
Art Shotwell
1 minute read