A power outage at the Joliet refinery in Illinois, United States, triggered a plant-wide shutdown and temporarily disrupted operations at the major fuel facility.
The outage occurred at about 3:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, with power restored around 7:00 p.m., according to a company statement. The incident activated the refinery’s safety flare and forced the shutdown of several units.
The company said it is assessing the refinery’s condition, while the cause of the outage remains under investigation.
According to IIR Energy, refinery units are now being stabilised following the plant-wide shutdown, with operations expected to return to normal by the end of the week.
The Joliet refinery is a major supplier of gasoline and diesel to consumers across the U.S. Midwest and has the capacity to produce about 11 million gallons of fuel per day.
The disruption comes at a time when global fuel markets are already under pressure, with the Iran war and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries straining supplies. Strong fuel exports have also contributed to tighter domestic inventories.
The temporary shutdown could therefore add further pressure to fuel markets if the refinery takes longer than expected to fully restore normal operations.
