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Philadelphia Oil Refinery To Close Following Massive Fire

PHILADELPHIA (AP/KDKA) -- The owner of the largest oil refinery on the East Coast is telling officials that it will close the facility after a fire last week set off explosions and damaged the complex.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement Wednesday that Philadelphia Energy Solutions had informed him of its decision.

Kenney says the more than 1,000 workers there will be impacted. A company spokeswoman isn't responding to a request for comment.

PES says the 150-year-old oil refining complex processes 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The refinery turns the crude into gasoline, jet fuel, propane, home heating oil and other products.

It started as a bulk petroleum storage facility in 1866, and began refinery operations in 1870.

philadelphia-oil-refinery-fire
(Photo Credit: CBS Philadelphia)

The Philadelphia refinery is where Pittsburgh gets its summer blend fuel.

Don Bowers, of the Pennsylvania Petroleum Association, is an expert in gas prices in our area. He said last week after the fire that the area could see further increases in prices as a result.

"That's going to be a bad thing, it's not a help to us, it's a hindrance," he said. "Anything coming from the East Coast is going to be a problem."

The company emerged from bankruptcy last year after restructuring its debt.

(TM and © Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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