Interesting facts about this event:
- Safe Work/Line Break Permitting
- Energy Isolation Verification
- Emergency Escape Respirators
- Hydrogen Sulfide Detection (Personal and Area)
- Contractors
On October 10, 2024, at 4:23 p.m., approximately 27,000 pounds of hydrogen sulfide gas were released during maintenance at the Refinery in Deer Park, Texas. The release fatally injured two (2) contract workers.
Background Information
The facility is a petroleum refinery located in Deer Park, Texas and is a Limited Partnership headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico, that is wholly owned by the Federal Government of Mexico. The business owns seven refineries, six in Mexico and the Refinery in the United States. TheRefinery employs approximately 1,000 personnel and 1,200 contract workers. The United Steelworkers union represents the refinery’s hourly maintenance and operations employees.
The incident occurred in the Amine Regeneration Units (ARUs), which separate hydrogen sulfide from aqueous amine. The resulting vapor, called acid gas, is a mixture of approximately 90% hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and 10% carbon dioxide (CO2). The acid gas is transferred through process piping to the downstream
Sulfur Recovery Unit (SRU) to convert the hydrogen sulfide into sulfur.