Fire Forces Shell to Shut Down Reformer at Louisiana Refinery

A catalytic reformer was shut on Sunday night at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s 211,270 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Convent, Louisiana, after a brief fire, said sources familiar with plant operations. The reformer has the capacity to process 40,000 bpd of feedstock, according to Refinitiv Eikon.

Shell spokesman Ray Fisher said the fire was quickly extinguished and there were no injuries. Fisher also said Shell is investigating the cause of the fire. He declined to discuss the status of individual units at the refinery, but said, “We will bring our units back on line only when it is safe to do so.”

Fenceline air monitoring showed no offsite impact from the fire, Fisher said.

Reformers convert refining byproducts into octane-boosting components that are added to gasoline.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)