PBF Schedules 5-Day Flaring at Torrance, CA Refinery

MIAMI, FL (DTN) – PBF Energy has reported an ongoing flaring event at its 166,000 bpd Torrance, California refinery, a filing with the South Coast Air Quality Management District showed Friday (5/22).

The planned flare began on Wednesday (5/20) at 7:20 a.m. PT and is expected to end on Monday (5/25) at 11:59 p.m., said the notice, which called it a “startup/shut down” event.

The Torrance refinery has experienced multiple flaring events this year tied to planned maintenance activity and operational disruptions.

In an earnings guidance issued in January, PBF listed a turnaround schedule of 40-45 days for the Torrance refinery’s cracked hydrotreater (CHD) and hydrotreater (HDT) units in the first quarter. It gave a similar turnaround schedule for the hydrocracker unit at its Martinez refinery in California for the same quarter.

The maintenance alert for Torrance comes amid capacity constraints in California’s refining system, following the shutdown of Phillips 66’s 139,000 bpd Los Angeles refinery and the ongoing idling of Valero’s 145,000 bpd Benicia refinery.