Firefighters contain blaze at Louisiana refinery

CONVENT (AP) — Firefighters contained a blaze that broke Thursday at a refinery along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Angela Goodwin, a spokeswoman for Motiva's Convent Refinery, said a fire began in the H-Oil unit about 10:50 a.m. She said emergency response teams within the refinery brought the fire under control and the cause of the incident is under investigation.

She said other units in the refinery remained operational.

"All employees are accounted for and there are no injuries," she said. "Employees, not directly involved in the operation or response, have been released for the day."

Television video from the scene showed flames in the center of the plant and huge billows of black smoke. Air monitoring confirmed there was no environmental impact to the community, Goodwin said.

The refinery produces a full slate of conventional petroleum products including regular, premium and low-sulfur gasoline.

Motiva is owned equally by subsidiaries of Saudi Aramco and Shell Oil Company.