Giant shuts down Ciniza refinery operating units following fire

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Apr. 13 -- Following a fire that broke out Apr. 8 at an alkylation unit at its 20,800 b/d Ciniza refinery near Gallup, NM, Giant Industries Inc. said it would temporarily shut down all of the plant's operating units.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Giant said that the fire was contained to the unit, although there was some damage discovered to ancillary equipment of two adjacent units. The company added that it does not suspect any "significant damage" to any of the refinery units other than to the 1,800 b/d alkylation unit.

The fire currently is under investigation by various governmental agencies, Giant said, and the company also is conducting its own investigation to determine the fire's cause and the full extent of the damage.

The plant already was scheduled to undergo turnaround maintenance Apr. 17, and some of the turnaround team already was on site when the fire broke out. The turnaround work, now expected to reach completion by mid-May, was accelerated in order to minimize the disruption to the refinery's operations, Giant said.

Based on a preliminary internal investigation, Giant estimates repair work following the fire to be $2.5-4 million; repairs are expected to reach completion by mid-June.

Before the fire, Giant was producing about 18,000 b/d at the Ciniza plant. During the turnaround and while repairs are being done to the damaged unit, Giant intends to increase output from its 16,000 b/d Bloomfield, NM, refinery by about 6,000 b/d.