Kapolei Refinery
The Tesoro Corporation runs one of the two oil refineries located in Kapolei, Hawaii, which they purchased in 1998. The plant opened in 1968, and quickly became a major provider of fuels to the local community. This provides a great benefit throughout all of Hawaii as it helps to ensure the island state is not forced to ship petroleum products in from other parts of the country. Currently the plant operates at a daily output level of 93,500 crude barrels of oil.
In recent years, the refinery has had to deal with some minor, but troubling incidents. In October of 2006 a large earthquake struck the Hawaiian island and cut off power at the plant for several days. This resulted in a loss of money, work hours for plant employees and production of fuels. The quake hit on Sunday, and the power was not restored until the following Thursday.
A similar situation occurred in November of 2007 when a severe storm caused a power outage that shut down production at the refinery. Power was returned much sooner this time, but one of the plant's Continuous Reformer Units, which is used in the refinement of gasoline, was damaged as a result of the storm. The unit was taken offline for repairs, and once again the plant had to temporarily halt a portion of their production line.
Yet another power outage occurred in February of 2008. The outage lasted for less than an hour, but it did cause a fire within the plant. Fire fighting crews reacted to the situation quickly and were able to put out the blaze in a short time. No one was injured during the incident, and although this once again slowed down the plant's production ability, refinery officials assured the local community they would be able to continue to fully supply their needs.
Prior to The Tesoro Corporation taking over the Kapolei refinery, a far more serious issue had to be addressed at the plant. For many years, there were products in active use throughout the plant that contained asbestos. This was a regular component in various industrial products until it was found to be a highly toxic substance that can cause respiratory damage and cancer. Most prominently, asbestos can lead to a from of cancer called Mesothelioma, which can be deadly. All of the asbestos laden products at the work site posed a serious health hazard to anyone who entered the facility. Asbestos is made up of tiny fibers that can easily break apart, become airborne and be inhaled by an unsuspecting victim. It can take many years for signs of the diseases that asbestos causes to show up, so anyone who worked at this facility while these products were in use should be checked out by their doctor.
Last modified: December 09, 2009.
