Marathon Petroleum's El Paso Refinery Experiences Power Outage, Shutdown

Marathon Petroleum's El Paso refinery experienced a power outage that led to a five-hour flaring incident and a facility-wide shutdown. Exxon's Baytown refinery also reported a malfunction in the light oil treater, but said there was minimal impact on production. The incidents occurred on Tuesday and were reported to Texas regulators.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation's El Paso refinery experienced a significant disruption on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, due to a power outage that led to a five-hour flaring incident and a facility-wide shutdown. The incident, which began at 4:42 p.m. Mountain Time and ended at 9:42 p.m., caused the refinery to stabilize its process units in response to the outage [2].

The power outage, attributed to a third-party provider, triggered Marathon's standard flaring procedures to ensure excess gases did not build up. Flares are safety devices that allow for the safe combustion of excess gases during certain operating conditions. Despite the incident, there were no reported injuries, and air monitoring was deployed as a precaution. Officials confirmed that no off-site impacts were detected, and the safety of workers, neighbors, and the environment remained a top priority [1].

The incident was one of two reported refinery issues in the region on Tuesday. ExxonMobil's Baytown refinery also experienced a malfunction in the light oil treater, but the company reported minimal impact on production [2]. The malfunction, which involved the emergency block valve in the unit, lasted approximately 45 minutes, starting at 3:30 p.m. Central Time [3].

The El Paso refinery, with a capacity of 133,000 barrels per day, is a significant contributor to Marathon Petroleum's operations. The incident underscores the importance of robust backup systems and emergency response protocols in the oil and gas industry. While the immediate impact on production and safety was minimal, the incident serves as a reminder of the potential risks associated with power outages and equipment malfunctions in refineries.

References:
[1] https://kvia.com/news/abc-7-alert-center/2025/07/08/refinery-stacks-spewing-black-smoke-in-south-central-el-paso/
[2] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/marathon-petroleum-s-el-paso-refinery-reports-power-outage-that-caused-shutdown-opis-191715ab
[3] https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/MARATHON-PETROLEUM-CORPOR-8251813/news/Marathon-Petroleum-s-El-Paso-Refinery-Reports-Power-Outage-That-Caused-Shutdown-OPIS-50471821/