Oil Refineries Present Unique Emergency Preparedness Challenges

Oil refineries are subject to unique risks during earthquake activity, and these risks could impact the emergency preparedness protocols of utilities located near one of these facilities.  While refineries can withstand the impact of a small or medium sized earthquake, things could get hairy when the “big one” hits.  Recent events in California shine a light on what these risks could entail.

How California Oil Refineries were Impacted by a Recent Quake

In October 2019, a relatively tame 4.5-magnitude quake hit Pleasant Hill, California.  Luckily, the small size of the quake only required the local oil refineries to engage in flaring, which is a safety procedure that involves burning off excess gas.  The refineries also had to go offline for several hours but they were back up and running the following day. 

Flaring is generally designed to mitigate the impact of ground movement, as burning the fuel prevents it from releasing into the ground and triggering catastrophic damage.  And oil refineries are equipped with warning systems that alert workers to automatically shut down operations when ground movement is detected. 

Although flaring is a standard procedure, local residents are aware of when it occurs because, in California at least, the process triggers warning sirens.  This awareness is understandably making residents question what could happen if a large quake rocks the area, as a large-scale disturbance could wreak havoc by busting underground pipes or causing storage tanks to explode.

Luckily, the worst-case scenario has yet to happen, but that does not mean that it will never happen.  For utility companies that operate in or near industrial belts that contain oil refineries, the worst-case scenario must be accounted for in emergency plans, exercises and drills.  And perhaps planned outages would be warranted in extreme cases, much like the recent response to California’s growing wildfire problem.  I certainly hope it never comes to that, all I’m saying is that you just never know.

The bottom line is that the unique risks of earthquakes to oil refineries should be incorporated into the emergency preparedness processes and protocols of utility companies that have these facilities within their service territory.  Otherwise, you may be at risk of having one of these emergencies turn into a flat-out disaster!