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Recently one of the major oil refineries at Port Arthur, Texas, was reportedly exploded, which caused huge fire and spewed fumes of thick black smoke out of the depot.
The explosion and fire were caused by a fire breaking out at its diesel hydrotreater.
As reported by Bloomberg, fire broke out near the plant's fluid catalytic cracker, and the unit suffered severe damage.
Notably, the 243-diesel hydrotreater unit at the refinery plant produced about 47,000 bpd and the unit uses hydrogen to remove sulphur from motor fuels during the production to comply with US environmental rules.
Moreover, Valero refinery produces about 380,000 barrels of oil per day and it has now been shut down after a few injuries were reported.
A spokesperson from Texas's major energy refinery informed that two nearby state highways have also been shut down by officials as a precaution, and all officials have been held accountable for the incident.
Additionally, a boom and thick smoke plumes coming from the plant situated 145 kilometres east of Houston, Texas, were reported and the blast was heard as far as 11 miles away.
The Valero refinery plant employs around 770 employees and refines heavy sour crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
After the tragic explosion, the refinery was shut down as the fire lasted about 5 hours, and the plant also ran out of water and steam as firefighters tried to put out the blaze.
Furthermore, the latest explosion has come amid the global oil crisis caused by the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for a large amount of the world's energy supply.
Gas prices were also driven up by the uncertainty over the global supply in the past two weeks.
