News
Refinery could be out of action for weeks, costing Valero millions
THE FALLOUT from Friday’s disruption to the national electricity supply across many parts of the UK will be serious for Pembrokeshire’s oil refinery.
Pembroke Refinery – owned by Valero – can refine up to 220,000 barrels of oil per day.
Along with 900,000 other electricity users in the UK, it suffered a complete power failure on August 9.
A source close to the plant told The Herald that screens in the control room went blank and refinery operators were forced to shut down manually.
During the incident there were large flare offs at the site and black smoke could be seen from the stacks.
There was a strong smell of oil in the air reported by nearby residents.
Despite Valero’s official spokesperson saying on Friday that the company did not comment on operational matters, another source told this newspaper that the power outage had knocked the fluid catalytic cracker offline, and that it would likely take a number of weeks for the refinery to get back to normal operations.
Our source said: “This is going to cost Valero millions of pounds. Everyone is very tight lipped at the present time, but I expect that there will be a big meeting on Monday – I understand that there are colleagues flying in from Texas.
“With the refinery out of action some ships may be forced to leave Milford Haven without any cargo.”
Our source told us: “I know that there is at least one ship waiting, on berth three I think, to load up with alkylate, but with the cracker down this won’t be happening.”
In 2017 a power outage and resulting smoke at a Valero Energy Corp refinery forced residents to remain indoors for several hours in Benicia, California. According to local news media reports at the time, black smoke from the refinery, also caused traffic to back up on Interstate 680 and forced evacuations from the industrial park where the plant is located. Orders to remain indoors and evacuate the industrial park had been lifted by noon. Two people were treated for respiratory distress.
Electrical disruptions and power failures at refineries often cause immense damage in terms of lost production, excessive repair costs, environmental impact and safety concerns. Electrical power is the lifeblood of the refinery and plant operation. An individual incident can run losses into millions of dollars a day. In 2012, the Phillips 66 refinery in New Jersey was down for 23 days. They estimated the lost revenue was over $650 million US Dollars.
The Government says it plans to launch an investigation into the major power cut. The blackout also brought travel chaos to the rail network and affected the power supply to Newcastle Airport and Ipswich Hospital.
Power had to be restored to more than 900,000 customers after what National Grid Electricity System Operator said was the almost simultaneous loss of two large generators.
Andrea Leadsom, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said Friday’s power outage had caused “enormous disruption”.
She added: “National Grid must urgently review and report to Ofgem.
“I will also be commissioning the Government’s Energy Emergencies Executive Committee to consider the incident.”
The committee will look at whether National Grid, which manages the electricity supply system, stuck to its processes and procedures and if these were fit-for-purpose.
It will also examine if there were technical performance issues in the country’s power system, the efficiency of communications around the incident and how power demand was restored.
National Grid said it would seek to “understand the lessons learned” from the incident, while energy regulator Ofgem called for an “urgent detailed report” on what went wrong.
Duncan Burt, operations director at National Grid, said the power cut was an “incredibly rare event”, but back-up systems had “worked well” in response.
He explained that automatic processes triggered by the loss of the two generators had temporarily disconnected electrical demand across the country to “help keep the rest of the system safe”.
Valero have been contacted for a further comment.
News
Man remanded in custody following alleged assault in town centre
A PEMBROKE man has been remanded in custody following an alleged assault against a woman in Pembroke town centre last Thursday.
Morgan Ralph, 38, is accused of assaulting a female, occasioning her actual bodily harm during the alleged altercation on March 14.
Ralph, who appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Tuesday morning via a video link from Swansea Prison, pleaded not guilty to the offence.
His solicitor Tom Lloyd, informed magistrates that Ralph was acting in self defence during the alleged incident.
The matter was adjourned to May 23 when Ralph, of St Oswalds, Main Street, Pembroke, will be tried before Haverfordwest magistrates.
He was remanded in custody.
News
Retaining wall collapse in Haverfordwest crushes van
A RETAINING wall at Spring Gardens Lane, behind the site of the former Pembroke House Hotel in Haverfordwest, has collapsed following a period of heavy rainfall, causing damage to vehicles parked in the vicinity.
The incident has left two vans damaged, one severely.
The collapse of the wall sent debris sprawling across the car park, illustrating the force of the collapse and the substantial volume of water contributing to the structural failure.
Witnesses described hearing a loud rumbling noise before discovering the aftermath of the collapse.
Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.
The collapse serves as a stark reminder of the challenges posed by heavy rainfall and the importance of maintaining and monitoring ageing infrastructure.
Business
People in Wales are worried about running out of money in retirement
FEAR of running out of money in retirement is rising among those in Wales with more than half (55%) concerned their savings will not last them through retirement, new research from Investec Wealth & Investment (UK) shows (please see the attached press release).
In general, women are more worried about running out of money compared to men. More than half (54%) of women surveyed are concerned about how long their money will last in retirement, compared to only 44% of men. Around 46% of men who are not worried about running out of money in retirement say it is because they have a final salary pension scheme – compared to just 38% of women who have this.
The study by Investec Wealth & Investment (UK), part of Rathbones Group, among people with stock market investments including pensions, paints a bleak picture – around 55% of those living in Wales are concerned they do not have enough money for retirement. This is similar to the UK average of 56%.
Women are more worried than men that they do not have enough money for retirement. Almost two thirds (61%) of women surveyed are concerned, with 18% of these very concerned they do not have enough money for retirement. This compares to just over half (53%) of men surveyed, with 14% of these very concerned they do not have enough money for retirement.
The Investec Wealth & Investment (UK) study shows that those living in Wales who have yet to retire are realistic about what will happen to their incomes in retirement – 64% expect their monthly incomes to drop on retirement and 36% did not know.
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