FILE - The BP Whiting refinery in East Chicago, Ind., is seen on Sept. 21, 2017. BPs sprawling oil refinery in northwest Indiana has resumed normal operations, a spokesperson said Tuesday, March 19, 2024, more than six weeks after a power outage prompted the energy giant to temporarily shut down the complex and evacuate workers.
On Feb. 1, a power outage prompted BP to shut down the refinery complex, evacuate workers and begin flaring its stacks, which are designed to burn off remaining fuel stock in the refinery's system to relieve pressure and avert explosions. The flaring stacks sent large clouds of smoke over the lakefront, causing residents to report smelling the odor more than 20 miles away, including in communities in neighboring Illinois,BP sent home hundreds of contractors for days as it worked to get its units up and running, gradually ramping up production to normal, the newspaper reported. The outage and temporary shutdown caused gas prices to rise in northwest Indiana and around the Midwest and stay elevated for weeks.
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