Overview
- Valero’s Port Arthur refinery, which exploded Monday evening, sent flames and thick black smoke into nearby neighborhoods and prompted a shelter-in-place order.
- Valero said all personnel were located and safe, and authorities reported no injuries.
- Officials began air-quality monitoring after residents reported dense smoke and a sulfur-like odor near the plant.
- The cause remains under investigation, and Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens pointed to a possible failure in a heater unit inside the refinery.
- Reports cited by Bloomberg said a diesel hydrotreater was badly damaged and parts of the plant were shut, a unit that strips sulfur from diesel to meet clean-fuel rules.