Marathon Los Angeles Refinery cuts production due to demand drop
(Reuters) - California's largest oil refinery began cutting production on Wednesday as the push to end the spread of coronavirus destroyed demand for motor fuels in the Los Angeles area, according to sources familiar with plant operations.
Marathon Petroleum Corp MPC.N expects to make a dramatic cut in production at its Los Angeles Refinery, the sources said, to bring costs in line with reduced demand. The exact amount of the planned cut was unknown on Wednesday night.
A Marathon spokesman was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday night.
An employee at the refinery tested positive for the virus and, along with those who worked close by, went into quarantine on March 11.
On Wednesday, Marathon told California environmental regulators it was utilizing the safety flare system at the refinery, indicating a change in the level of production. The safety flare system is used to burn off excess hydrocarbons when units are shut or malfunction.
Marathon maintained regular production in the week after the worker went into quarantine.
The coronavirus has infected more than 200,000 people worldwide and over 8,700 of those have died. In the United States, more than 8,000 people have been infected and over 150 people have died.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Sandra Maler and Kenneth Maxwell)
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