A fire at the Tylor Refinery in Texas owned by Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) subsidiary Delek US Holdings Inc. (NYSE:DK) on Thursday killed one employee and injured four, and halted production. The refinery produces 60,000 barrels per day. The explosion occurred at 2 am local time. Yitzhak Tshuva is the controlling shareholder of Delek Group.
Delek US says that a preliminary facility assessment found the fire broke out the general vicinity of the saturates gas plant and the naptha hydrotreater. The company adds that although the extent of the damage has not yet been determined, most of the refinery's critical refining units were not damaged. The refinery will remain offline pending a detailed review of the exact cause and origin of the accident. Operations at the Tyler terminal rack remain online for the time being, as the company tries to dispose of existing finished product inventories.
Delek US currently carries $1 billion in combined limits to cover property damage and business interruption. The company has a $5 million deductible for property damage insurance.
Delek US also sells gasoline and other products at Mapco Mart, Mapco Express and other service stations and convenience stores.
Delek US's share fell 7.5% on Friday to $3.85, giving a market cap of $206 million. Delek Group's share opened at NIS 152 today, and fell 1.5% by mid-morning.
In February, a fire broke out at the other Texas refinery owned by an Israeli company: the Big Springs refinery of David Weissman's Alon Israel Oil Company Ltd. subsidiary Dor Alon Energy in Israel (1988) Ltd. (TASE:DRAL). The refinery came back on line two months later.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 23, 2008
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