Praxair's hydrogen plant, located on the grounds of Motiva's refinery, experienced an energy release this morning.   

All emergency systems operated as designed and the situation was quickly contained.  The plant is currently shut down. 

There were no injuries; all employees who were at the site have been accounted for.   

There was no damage to Motiva facilities or surrounding communities. 

Since we are in the process of assessing the situation, we have no further details at this time.

Motiva Port Arthur Refinery - Cleanup is now complete at the site of the crude oil leak that took place at the Motiva Port Neches Terminal on June 22.  The appropriate agencies have been notified and all operations at the terminal are normal at this time.

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A leak was discovered at Motiva's Port Neches Terminal in Port Neches, Texas on the morning of June 22.  Calculations indicated that approximately 100 gallons were released into the Sabine Neches Waterway.  

The source of the oil leak was a loading arm flange at the Motiva Facility. The flange has since been secured and is no longer leaking oil into the waterway. 

Motiva is working with the Texas General Land Office and the Coast Guard to clean up the oil and to minimize the oil's impact to the environment. The Texas General Land Office and the Coast Guard responded on scene with personnel and boats to monitor cleanup operations.  

Motiva has also contracted Garner Environmental, Oil Mop and Clean Harbor for the containment and recovery operations. Containment boom has been placed around the visible sheen and Motiva has secured the leaking flange. Garner has staged pollution response equipment on scene and is actively recovering the small pockets of oil.

Operations at the terminal are not impacted at this time. 

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This morning a leak was discovered at Motiva's Port Neches Terminal, which resulted in a total release of approximately two barrels (less than 100 gallons) of crude oil.  A minimal amount of that crude oil did go into the river and has been contained in an area near the Motiva dock.  Appropriate agencies have been notified and emergency responders are assisting in the clean up.
 
Our top priorities remain protecting the safety of responders and the public, and minimizing impact, if any, to the environment.  We sincerely regret any inconvenience related to this incident. 
 
The cause of the incident is under investigation and there are no reported injuries at this time.
 
For more information call 409.989.7903 or visit Motiva Port Arthur Refinery's website listed below.
 
Anne Bryan Peebles, APR 
Cell - 713-806-2238

SHELL MEDIA LINE - 713-241-4544

This morning a leak was discovered at Motiva's Port Neches Terminal, which resulted in a total release of less than five barrels.  A minimal amount of crude oil did go into the river and has been contained in an area near the Motiva dock.  Appropriate agencies have been notified and emergency responders are assisting in the cleanup.

Our top priorities remain protecting the safety of responders and the public, and minimizing impact, if any, to the environment.  We sincerely regret any inconvenience related to this incident. 

The cause of the incident is under investigation and there are no reported injuries at this time.

For more information call 409.989.7903 or visit Motiva Port Arthur Refinery's website listed below.

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This morning a leak was discovered at Motiva's Port Neches Terminal.  At this time, the incident is under control and cleanup is underway.  There are no reported injuries at this time.

The incident resulted in the accidental release of crude oil.

Motiva employees are performing environmental monitoring in and around the facility to ensure the safety of employees and neighbors.

The Motiva Port Arthur Refinery has activated its Emergency Response Plan, and notified appropriate agencies of the incident.

Cause of the incident is being investigated.  Motiva Port Arthur Refinery regrets any inconvenience related to this incident. Right now, the top priorities are protecting the safety of responders and the public, and minimizing any impact to the environment.

For more information call 409.989.7903 or visit Motiva Port Arthur Refinery's website listed below.

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The good news is that construction continues on the 325,000 barrel-per-day capacity expansion project at Motiva's Port Arthur refinery, though on a new timetable given current market conditions.   The new production capacity is expected to be online in the first quarter of 2012.  The pace of construction remains subject to change and is dependent on market conditions as well as safe, efficient and cost effective construction activity. 

Motiva Port Arthur General Manager Todd Monette is pleased with the announcement that the project will move forward.    Monette states, "the financial crisis in our country has created a lot of unrest and questions for many regarding the growth our country has seen over the past several years.  In this light, Motiva recently completed its own due diligence on our expansion project and reaffirmed our plans, with some adjustments in timing, to invest in the energy sector of our country with this statement of continued support for the expansion project here in Port Arthur. From the initial onset of the project, Motiva has not wavered in its position of investing in energy capacity for the country and I expect the project and the community will end up on an even stronger platform for sustainability in the long run."         

The refinery will be a world-class, state-of-the art facility.  The expansion is designed to lower most types of emissions from refinery operations on a per barrel basis by utilizing advanced technology in all new system installations and replacing existing systems.  Expansion plans call for decreasing emissions from present day levels for ozone precursors, specifically nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.