Chevron's El Segundo refinery key unit remains shut three weeks after fire

By Nicole Jao

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A hydrocracker remained offline at Chevron's CVX.N 285,000-barrel-per-day El Segundo refinery in Southern California three weeks after a large fire at a jet-fuel-producing unit earlier this month, sources said on Wednesday.

The refinery took multiple units offline following a large fire that erupted on October 2.

The 45,000-bpd hydrocracker unit remains shut, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Wednesday.

The unit, which converts mid-distillate fuel oil into jet fuel, will remain offline for an indeterminate amount of time, a person familiar with the matter said.

A Chevron spokesperson declined to provide an update on El Segundo's operation, but said an investigation is ongoing.

The El Segundo refinery is the second largest in California and Chevron's second-biggest refinery in the United States. The facility supplies a fifth of all motor vehicle fuels and 40% of the jet fuel consumed in southern California.