Tesoro Golden Eagle Said to Shut Hydrocracker for Three Weeks

Tesoro Corp. (TSO)’s Golden Eagle refinery shut a hydrocracker over the weekend because of a leak and is expected to keep the unit out of service for three weeks, a person with knowledge of the repairs said.

The hydrocracker was halted Feb. 2 after a hole was found in a line at the Northern California refinery, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The work may last longer than three weeks because the plant is waiting for new equipment, the person said.

Tina Barbee, a spokeswoman at Tesoro’s headquarters in San Antonio, declined to comment on the shutdown. She said earlier today that the refinery was performing planned work.

Golden Eagle can process 170,000 barrels of feedstock a day, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The plant refines crude oils from Alaska, California and foreign sources, according to Tesoro’s website.

Hydrocrackers convert heavy hydrocarbons into lighter fuels such as high-octane gasoline and high-grade fuel oil.

The refinery was already conducting a maintenance turnaround on the No. 6 boiler. The unit, which was scheduled to return to service this week, may remain shut until next week for additional tube repairs, the person said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lynn Doan in San Francisco at ldoan6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net