What happened

An explosion and fire hit the 47,000 bbl/d diesel hydrotreater (Unit 243) at Valero's 380,000 bbl/d Port Arthur refinery, audible up to 11 miles away; Valero attributed it to a process-fluid release that triggered an ignition and multiple unit upsets. No injuries were reported, though a shelter-in-place order was issued and lifted once the fire was out. The whole refinery was shut, with a partial restart beginning around 16 April after heater damage was also found during inspection. This was an accidental industrial incident, not an attack.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.