Oil refinery in Texas explodes into flames triggering massive boom as smoke billows through air
A major oil refinery in Texas burst into flames, sending smoke billowing into the air Monday night.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, after several people in the neighborhood reported hearing a loud explosion that shook their homes. KPLC.
Smoke was seen rising into the sky from the refinery, which converts 435,000 barrels of crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel every day.
Sheriff Zena Stephens said the explosion was likely caused by an industrial heater. KDFM’s report.
The explosion led authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order for the western part of the city.
The explosion occurred during the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil is carried.
This shutdown has particularly hit Americans, with the average price of regular gas being $3.91 a gallon, according to AAA.
That’s a 25 percent increase from a year ago and a staggering 33 percent increase from a month ago, just before the start of the war in Iran.
A massive oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, burst into flames and smoke billowed into the air Monday night
The refinery converts crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel at a rate of 435,000 barrels per day
The explosion led authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order for the western part of the city.
This is breaking news and will be updated.
