Phillips 66 temporarily shuts Texas aromatics unit

By ROSE MARTON-VITALE

Phillips 66 said a furnace problem at its Sweeny Refinery in Old Ocean, Texas, caused Unit 35, previously identified as an aromatics unit, to shut down, a filing to Texas state environmental regulators made available Wednesday said.

Refinery operations personnel routed the emissions caused by the event to several of the plant's safety flare stacks intermittently throughout the day and worked to bring Unit 35 back on line.

The emissions event lasted just under 12 hours, the filing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said.

Aromatics, which are produced in the catalytic reforming of naphtha, are used in the production of petrochemicals and can be added to gasoline to raise its octane rating.

The Sweeny refinery processes up to 247,000 bpd, including large volumes of heavy, sour crude.