Explosion Rocks Husky Energy Refinery in Wisconsin

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A tank explosion rocked Husky Energy Incorporated's (TSX:HSE) (Calgary, Alberta) Superior Refinery on Thursday in Wisconsin, with at least 11 people taken to area hospitals, according to news media accounts. Also on Thursday, the integrated energy company announced it downsized its production guidance for the year.

Industrial Info is tracking $35 million in project activity at the 50,000 barrel-per-day (BBL/d) refinery, which Husky bought from Calumet Specialty Products Partners (Indianapolis, Indiana) in 2017. For more information about the refinery, see Industrial Info's plant profile. For related information, see August 16, 2017, article - Husky Energy Seeks Additional Heavy Oil Refining Capacity with Wisconsin Purchase.

In all, Industrial Info is tracking more than $11 billion in project activity tied to Husky in Canada, Indonesia, the U.S. and China.

Click on the image at right for a graph showing Husky project activity in North America.

All workers at the refinery were accounted for, the company said in a press release on Thursday. No information was given regarding the operational status of the facility.

According to news accounts, a tank containing crude oil or asphalt exploded. According to the Associated Press, fire authorities had urged people living within a 1.6-kilometer radius of the refinery to leave their homes.

Husky purchased the heavy oil-based refinery last year for $435 million. At the time of the purchase, the company said the Wisconsin refinery would allow the company to keep up with expected increased upstream production from its sites in Canada.

However, on Thursday, the company said in its first-quarter earnings release that it had lowered by 10,000 BBL/d its production guidance range for the year. The new guidance of 310,000-320,000 BBL/d in part reflects its decision to temporarily reduce heavy oil production to take advantage of wide differentials and instead use discounted third-party crude as feedstock for its downstream operations, the company said.

Husky's downstream throughputs for the just-ended quarter totaled 398,000 BBL/d, compared with 366,700 BBL/d a year earlier, reflecting the first full quarter of operations at the Superior Refinery, the company said in its earnings release.

Throughputs at the Superior Refinery averaged 37,000 BBL/d during the first quarter. A five-week turnaround had been planned at the Superior Refinery in the second quarter. For more on the $15 million turnaround, see Industrial Info's project report.

Industrial Info also is tracking a $20 million upgrade that was planned to start this spring at the Superior Refinery. The project would revamp the crude and vacuum unit. Burns & McDonnell Incorporated (Kansas City, Missouri) is performing the engineering work. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Husky reported C$248 million (US$193 million) in net earnings for the just-ended quarter, up 250% from a year earlier.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.