23rd May 2014
FLARING AT REFINERY–INCIDENT CONTROLLED

An operational issue at the refinery has caused some flaring on the Pacheco Blvd. side of the facility. The incident has now been controlled with no injuries and no community impact beyond the noise and an odor. A Community Warning System Level 1 incident has been called as a precautionary measure, which means there is no need for residents to shelter-in-place. This particular flare can be noisy, and Shell would like to apologize to our neighbors for any impact this caused.

A flare is a safety device used to combust excess gas at the refinery, and it was used properly in order to contain the operational issue we had. For business and competitive reasons, we cannot discuss the specific unit involved or production levels. As always, we would like to acknowledge our outstanding employees at the refinery for quickly addressing this situation.

– Steve (Lesher)