Intermittent flaring expected at Martinez refinery ahead of maintenance work
Flaring on Tuesday night at Martinez Refining Company will happen intermittingly over the next few days, the refinery said Wednesday.
"We are in the process of temporarily shutting down one of our process units at the Martinez refinery," refinery spokesperson Brandon Matson said Wednesday morning. "The shutdown process will take a few days, during which there will be intermittent flaring to ensure the unit is brought down in a safe and controlled manner, following standard procedures. Importantly, the associated flaring is primarily the clean combustion of treated process gas. All appropriate agencies have been notified."
Matson said following the unit's shutdown, employees and contractor partners will safely conduct maintenance work over the next few weeks. Following completion of the work, they will restart the unit, during which intermittent flaring will occur again for a few days until the restart is complete.
"The associated flaring with the re-start will again be primarily clean-combusting treated process gas," Matson said. "Prior to unit re-start, we will notify appropriate agencies and issue another community update."
Contra Costa Health said last week it has documented nearly 50 flaring episodes since Thanksgiving 2022, when an accidental release of spent catalyst from the refining process sent 20 to 24 tons of material into the community surrounding the refinery. The release, which lasted until the following morning and about which the refinery didn't officially notify the community for days, is being investigated by an independent panel and the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.
Matson said Wednesday, "Flares are an essential part of a refinery's integrated, engineered safety systems designed to safely manage excess combustible gases by burning them off efficiently and effectively."
Matson said people can learn more about flaring by going to https://martinezrefiningcompany.com/about-flaring/.
The refinery, which is owned by PBF Energy Inc., has a community inquiry phone number at (925) 313-3777 or (925) 313-3601 during off-work hours.
