Chevron reports sulfur leak at Pascagoula pipeline

26 October 2009 @ 01:37 pm EDT

Chevron Corp said on Monday it had a molten sulfur leak from a pipeline while a barge was being loaded with it at the marine terminal of its 330,000-barrel-per-day Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery.

Motorists are shown at gas pumps at a Chevron gasoline station in Burbank, California July 31, 2009. Chevron Corp posted a 71 percent drop in profit on weaker energy prices and fuel demand due to the economic slump, but it raised estimated 2009 output and said cost cuts were on track.

1 of 1

"We had a leak of elemental sulfur from a pipeline. We were loading a barge at the refinery when this occurred," said Steve Renfroe, a refinery spokesman, referring to the Sunday morning incident.

"We stopped loading and we are repairing the line and are in the process of retrieving the sulfur," he added.

Renfroe declined to comment on whether production at the refinery was impacted, citing company policy.

He said initial reports that about four tons of sulfur may have leaked into Bayou Casotte in Mississippi were overstated.

"We believe it's much less than that," Renfroe added.

The cause of the leak was under investigation, he said.

(Reporting by Haitham Haddadin; Editing by Christian Wiessner)