Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Sulfur Shuts 500 Shell, Texaco Stations

Not sure if the tainted gasoline which originated at the Motiva Enterprises refinery in Norco, La., can be grouped with the following refinery mishap list. If so this means yet another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. I shall post both.

-Am

Updated 9:54 PM ET May 28, 2004


By ALAN SAYRE

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Just before the heavy-driving Memorial Day weekend, more than 500 Shell and Texaco stations in the South have stopped selling gasoline because of high sulfur levels that can ruin vehicle fuel gauges and make an empty tank appear full.

The damage done by the bad gasoline could cause some drivers to run out of gas unexpectedly. Also, car owners may have to replace their fuel gauges _ a repair job that can easily cost $400 to $600.

The tainted gasoline originated at the Motiva Enterprises refinery in Norco, La., according to Shell Oil Co. Motiva is the refining arm of Shell in the East and South. Motiva supplied the gasoline to both Shell and Texaco.

The refinery said it is investigating how the high sulfur levels occurred. Sulfur is naturally present in crude oil; some of it is supposed to be removed during refining.

As of Friday, 119 Shell and Texaco stations were closed in the New Orleans area, and 400 were not selling fuel in Florida, said Shell spokeswoman Helen Bow.

The problem occurred at an especially bad time for gasoline stations, which had been expecting brisk sales, at high prices, ahead of the holiday weekend.

"The pumps have been off since Wednesday," said Sri Guntaka, a cashier at a Shell station in New Orleans. "We've lost a lot of customers, hundreds of them. It's very bad."

Gas tanks have a float ball that rises and falls with the fuel level. An electrical system reads the float ball's level and transmits the information to the dashboard fuel gauge. The system uses silver electrical contacts, which can be quickly corroded by sulfur.

The problem came to light this week after drivers began complaining about inaccurate fuel gauge readings.

Besides the New Orleans area, problem fuel turned up in shipments to Miami, Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale, Shell said.

Shell is replacing the gasoline at its stations. But Bow did not have an estimate of when all the stations would be pumping again.

Don Redman, a spokesman for Louisiana AAA, said that before the shutdown was announced, he fielded several calls from the auto club's members complaining that their gas readings were way off.

"People have been looking at their odometers because of the high prices and saying, `Hey, wait a minute,'" Redman said.

Shell said it had received 1,800 queries and 825 claims from people who said their fuel gauges had been affected.

Mark Hebert, who lives in Luling, said he filled up at a Shell station on Monday, and 200 miles of driving later, the gauge on his 2002 Impala still read full.

"I just know it has to be between a quarter and a half full at this point," said Hebert, who submitted a claim to Shell and planned to take his car in next week for a replacement gauge.

Guy Valvis, owner of an auto repair shop in Metairie, said he normally handles about two gauge replacements a year. "I've fixed three or four here in the last week, and I've got two in here right now," he said Friday.

Valvis said the repair job entails draining the fuel and removing the gas tank.



http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=040528&cat=news&st=newsd82ruqio0&src=....



Refinery Fires - Cause Unknown Or Untold?
Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 3:54 pm
Article: Patricia L Johnson

CAUSE UNKNOWN or UNTOLD?

By Patricia Johnson
February 20th 2004 - Friday
" Fire reported at Tesoro California refinery
"
Tesoro
Petroleum Corporation
Martinez CA
(click here)

/
/
\/

March 9th 2004 - Tuesday
" Fire reported at Marathon Ashland Garyville refinery "
Marathon Ashland Petroleum
Garyville LA
(click here)

/
/
\/

March 23rd 2004 - Tuesday
" Subduing Oklahoma fire
"
Sunoco
Tulsa OK
(click here)

/
/
\/

March 27th 2004 - Saturday
" Rosemount refinery fire could push up gasoline prices "
Flint Hills Resources
Rosemount MN
(click here)

/
/
\/

March 30th 2004 - Tuesday
" Explosion rocks Texas City refinery"
British Petroleum
Refinery
Texas City TX
(click here)

/
/
\/

April 1st 2004 - Thursday
"Exxon Mobil chemical plant unit damaged in blaze"
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Baytown TX
(click here)

/
/
\/

April 9th 2004 - Friday
" Refinery explosion near Gallup, N.M. hospitalizes four with serious injuries"
Giant Industries Refinery
Gallup NM
(click here)

/
/
\/

National average retail price of regular gasoline $1.78/gal. as of 4/05/2004
Source: DOE
(click here)


When the F.B.I. Houston Joint Terrorism Task Force issued the advisory on March 25 to the Texas petrochemical industry, it was intended to warn the oil industry of potential terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda “near the time of the November presidential election” (click here).

Most articles linked above are listing the cause of the explosions and subsequent fires as unknown, but my guess is we either need to send all refinery workers back to school for a refresher course in safety procedures, or this country is crawling with Al Qaeda.

Whatever the cause of the fires, it may be a good idea to keep your tanks filled as gas prices will only go up, up, up....


**************
© 2004 Patricia Johnson
Patricia Johnson is a freelance writer residing in the Midwest

http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:9gsG_dH3rQUJ:www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0404/S00102.htm+ex....


Excerpt:
Chemical plants are a major target for terrorist attack, and their security is not adequate.

The National Infrastructure Protection Center Warned of Al-Qaeda Threat to Chemical Plants. In February 2003, the National Infrastructure Protection Center warned that Al-Qaeda "may attempt to launch conventional attacks against the U.S. nuclear/chemical- industrial infrastructure to cause contamination, disruption, and terror." (NIPC, 2/12/03)

PRESIDENT BUSH AND GOP HAVE BOWED TO CHEMICAL INDUSTRY DONORS, OPPOSED STRONG MEASURES

Administration First Recognized Threat and Pushed for New Security Regulations:
EPA and White House Homeland Security Office Warned Voluntary Measures Not Enough. The EPA and Ridge's Office of Homeland Security (prior to the creation of DHS) produced documents that "dispute(d) the chemical industry's claims that it can improve security against terrorism without federal oversight." The documents listed 30 chemical facilities in or near populated areas that required "immediate government attention." (Washington Post, 8/5/02)

-- DHS Spokesperson Criticized the Effectiveness of the Chemical Industry's Measures. Homeland Security spokesperson Brian Roehrkasse said, "Voluntary efforts alone won't be sufficient to assure the appropriate level of security across the chemical sector." (Washington Post, 4/8/03)
Administration and Republicans Reversed Position After Industry Lobbying:

Chemical Plant Security Bill First Passed Unanimously, Then Blocked After "Intense Lobbying Campaign." In July 2002, the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works unanimously passed tough homeland security legislation authored by Senator Jon Corzine. "The petrochemical industry then launched an intense lobbying campaign to upend Corzine's proposal for mandatory security measures, prompting most Republicans on the panel to withdraw support." (Washington Post, 04/08/03)

Administration "Abandoned" Tough Regulations After "Resistance from the Industry." In 2002, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, with support of Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, pushed for new rules requiring heightened homeland security. But the Bush Administration subsequently "abandoned efforts to impose tough new security regulations on the chemical industry ... following months of intense internal fighting within the administration and resistance from the industry." The Bush Administration's approach requires "relying solely on voluntary safety programs developed by chemical-industry trade associations." (Washington Post, 10/03/02; National Journal, 08/02/03)

An Array of "Heavyweights" Went to Bat Against Government Regulations of Chemical Plants. Corporations that went to Capitol Hill to lobby against the EPA plan to require security fixes at chemical plants included such "heavyweights" as Dow Chemical, Exxon-Mobil, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the American Chemistry Council. (National Journal's CongressDaily, 9/10/02)
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=110-04292004