Exxon Shuts Crude Unit at Trecate Refinery After Second Fire in Two Weeks

Exxon Mobil Corp. shut the larger of two crude-distillation units at its Sarpom refinery in Trecate, Italy, after the second fire in almost two weeks.

The blaze, which occurred as the unit was being restarted following a fire on Aug. 31, began at about 8:45 a.m. local time yesterday and was extinguished 45 minutes later, Antonella Sopranzetti, a Rome-based spokeswoman for the company, said today by phone. There were no injuries and an investigation into the cause of the fire is being carried out, she said.

Fuel-producing units at the plant are at reduced rates because of the lower-than-usual feed, Sopranzetti said. The refinery can meet all its sales contracts “at this stage” as a contingency plan is being arranged for fuel deliveries, she said.

The plant near Milan has the capacity to process 230,000 barrels of oil a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Irving, Texas-based Exxon is operator of the site with a 74.1 percent stake, while Italy’s ERG SpA holds the rest.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nidaa Bakhsh in London at nbakhsh@bloomberg.net.