BLAINE, Wash. (AP) — BP says it’s working to meet customer demand as its Cherry Point refinery in Washington state remains idle following a fire.
Company spokesman Scott Dean says it’s still too early to say what caused the fire or how long it will be before the plant resumes operations. In the meantime, he says, BP is working to satisfy customer demand from existing stocks at Cherry Point as well as from other sources.
The refinery employs more than 800 people and can process as much as 230,000 barrels of Alaska crude oil a day, mostly transportation fuels.
The fire burned for an hour Friday afternoon in the refinery’s crude processing unit and sent plumes of black smoke visible for miles.
One worker who suffered knee pain during the evacuation was treated and released from a hospital. No one else was injured.
