Repairs on catalytic cracker at refinery are under way

Holly Corp., a refinery and fuel terminal operator in the western U.S., said it will perform 10 to 14 days of repairs on a fluid catalytic cracking unit after a malfunction at its Navajo refinery in Artesia, N.M.

While repairs are being performed on the unit, the plant "is expected" to reduce crude processing rates by about 30,000 barrels a day, the Dallas-based company said Friday in a statement.

The unit, which is central to gasoline production, shut down during a thunderstorm that was accompanied by lightning, Holly said. The malfunction happened when the unit was being restarted, the statement said.

The Navajo refinery can process 83,000 barrels of oil a day. The company also operates a 26,000 barrel-a-day plant in Woods Cross. The Navajo plant supplies fuel to Arizona and New Mexico.