April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Valero Energy Corp. expects a 45,000-barrel-a-day hydrocracker at the Port Arthur, Texas, refinery to be down for seven to 10 days, a company spokesman said.

The hydrocracker was shut April 3 for unplanned work, Bill Day, the spokesman, said in a telephone interview. The unit was shut so workers could repair a leak in an air cooler, Day said.

The refinery can process 294,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the Energy Department.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Clark in New York at aclark27@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 6, 2009 10:48 EDT