Undefeated Refinery Explosion Lawyers
A Valero refinery explosion can turn your life upside down in an instant.
One moment you’re doing your job, and the next you’re left with catastrophic burns, broken bones and other life-altering injuries. You and your family are suddenly thrown into crisis, forced to deal with tens of thousands in medical bills, the loss of a steady paycheck, and the uncertainty of how to move forward.
In the days and weeks that follow, questions begin to pile up faster than answers. How could this have happened? Who is responsible? And most importantly, how do you even begin to rebuild your lives?
Valero Energy: World’s Largest Independent Petroleum Refiner
Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Valero Energy Corporation is the world’s largest independent petroleum refiner, with a combined throughput capacity exceeding 3 million barrels per day (bpd).. The company operates 10 oil refineries in the United States alone, including six in Texas.
Valero Ardmore Refinery
Valero’s Ardmore Refinery is located in Oklahoma, just north of Dallas, where it employs about 270 workers. The facility processes approximately 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) for use in gasoline, diesel, and asphalt.
Valero Benicia Refinery
Valeros Benicia Refinery is located just northeast of San Francisco and has a capacity of 170,000 bpd. The Benicia facility employs around 400 workers and supplies roughly 10% of the specialized California reformulated gasoline used in the state, as well as nearly half of Northern California’s asphalt.
Valero Corpus Christi Refineries
Valero operates two refineries along the Corpus Christi Ship Channel on the Texas Gulf Coast: the East Plant and the West Plant, also known as the Bill Greehey Refinery. Together, these facilities employ over 700 people and can process about 370,000 bpd into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt.
Valero Houston Refinery
Valero’s Houston Refinery, located on the Houston Ship Channel, employs roughly 315 people and has a capacity of 255,000 bpd. The facility produces gasoline, jet fuel, ultra-low-sulfur diesel, liquefied petroleum gases, and other refined products.
Valero McKee Refinery
Located on 5,000 acres north of Amarillo, Texas, Valero’s McKee Refinery employs approximately 376 workers and has the capacity to refine up to 200,000 bpd into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, and sulfuric acid.
Valero Memphis Refinery
Situated along the Mississippi River in Tennessee, Valero’s Memphis Refinery employs roughly 300 workers and has a refining capacity of 195,000 bpd. Nearly 100% of its production consists of light products such as gasoline and diesel, sourced primarily from sweet crude oil.
Valero Meraux Refinery
Just outside New Orleans, in Chalmette, Louisiana, the Valero Meraux Refinery processes approximately 135,000 bpd, employing around 260 people. It produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and high-sulfur fuel oil.
Valero Port Arthur Refinery
The Port Arthur Refinery in southeast Texas is one of Valero’s largest, with a capacity of 435,000 bpd and approximately 770 employees. Located 90 miles east of Houston, the facility refines primarily heavy sour crude oil.
St. Charles Refinery
Valero’s St. Charles Refinery lies approximately 25 miles west of New Orleans in Norco, Louisiana. The refinery has a capacity of 340,000 bpd and employs 550 people. In addition to producing gasoline and diesel, the facility generates renewable diesel through a joint venture, making it one of the largest plants of its kind in the world.
Valero Texas City Refinery
Located south of Houston, the Valero Texas City Refinery processes 260,000 bpd and employs approximately 445 workers. The facility produces gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gases.
Valero Three Rivers Refinery
Situated between San Antonio and Corpus Christi, the Three Rivers Refinery processes 100,000 bpd and employs around 290 people. It produces gasoline, distillates, and aromatics.
Valero Wilmington Refinery
Located in Southern California and adjacent to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, Valero’s Wilmington Refinery employs about 390 workers and processes 135,000 bpd for California-grade gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt.
Recent Valero Refinery Explosions and Accidents
Since 2020, Valero has been cited for 39 safety violations by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), including more than a dozen deemed serious. Not surprisingly, the company’s refineries have experienced a number of fires, explosions, and accidents in recent years, including several that resulted in worker injuries.
Valero Three Rivers Refinery – Fire
In January 2025, a large fire broke out at the Valero Three Rivers Refinery on New Year’s Day, alarming nearby residents who shared video footage and concerns about their safety on social media. While Valero maintained that no one had been injured in the blaze, five workers later claimed they had suffered third-degree burns.
Valero Meraux Refinery – Explosion and Fire
In April 2022, eight workers were rushed to the hospital after a fire and explosion erupted at Valero’s Meraux refinery, including two people with severe burns. According to the company, the incident occurred on the facility’s 135,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude distillation unit, while the facility was shut down for a multi-unit overhaul.
Valero Meraux Refinery – Worker Injured
Just two years earlier, in April 2020, another worker at the Meraux refinery was hospitalized after an explosion on the facility’s hydrocracking unit released up to 5,500 pounds of sulfur dioxide. Valero agreed to pay $47,357 in fines to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to settle allegations that it failed to follow federally mandated safety procedures during the incident.
Valero Texas City Refinery – Explosion Injures 4 Contractors
In April 2018, an explosion at Valero’s Texas City Refinery lit up the night sky across St. Bernard Parish and parts of New Orleans. While Valero initially stated that no one had been injured in the incident, the company later acknowledged that four unidentified contractors were hurt while escaping the area of the blast and fire.
Valero Port Arthur Refinery – Fire
In September 2017, a large fire broke out at the Valero Port Arthur Refinery, triggering a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents and spewing more than 1 million pounds of potentially toxic emissions into the air. It took crews about 3 hours to contain the blaze, but fortunately, no injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
Common Causes of Valero Refinery Explosions
Having successfully represented over 1,000 refinery workers in Texas and across the United States, we’ve found there’s a common theme in every case we’ve handled: the vast majority of injuries are entirely preventable, and almost always result from owners and operators placing profit above worker safety.
- Presence of Volatile Substances: Refineries handle massive volumes of crude oil, natural gas, and hydrocarbon products. The constant presence of these volatile substances means even minor errors can set the stage for an explosion.
- Chemical Reactions: When chemical processes aren’t handled correctly, reactions such as polymerization, decomposition, or mixing incompatible substances can spiral out of control. The resulting heat and pressure can be enough to rupture equipment or trigger a blast.
- Breakdowns in Critical Equipment: Refinery operations rely on pumps, compressors, valves, and storage tanks running under extreme stress. If one of these components fails, the release of flammable materials can quickly escalate into fire or explosion.
- Corrosion and Wear: Pipes and equipment in refineries are constantly exposed to corrosive chemicals and extreme temperatures. Over time, this damage weakens metal surfaces until they can no longer withstand normal operating pressure.
- Lack of Maintenance: When preventative maintenance is delayed or ignored, even minor defects in machinery or infrastructure can become catastrophic hazards. Valves may stick, seals may crack, and leaks may go unnoticed until it’s too late.
- Ignition Sources: Refineries are full of potential ignition points — sparks from tools, hot surfaces, faulty wiring, or even static electricity. When flammable vapors are present, a single spark can trigger a chain reaction.
- Leaks and Releases: Accidental spills of liquid fuel or the escape of flammable gases create explosive atmospheres. If these leaks aren’t detected and controlled immediately, workers can be engulfed in a fireball with little warning.
- Failure of Safety Systems: Refineries rely on detection and suppression systems to prevent accidents. When fire alarms, emergency shutdown systems, or gas detectors fail to work as intended, the margin for error disappears.
- Lack of Training and Safety Protocols: Refinery workers who aren’t adequately trained or provided with clear safety protocols are more likely to make mistakes. In an emergency, those gaps can mean the difference between containment and catastrophe.
Who Can I Sue After a Valero Refinery Explosion?
Valero refinery explosions are rarely the result of a single mistake. Like most incidents of this nature, a combination of failures across different parties typically contributes to these disasters. Identifying those contributors, as well as the responsible parties, is crucial to ensuring you and your family have access to the financial resources needed to rebuild your lives.
- Valero Energy Corporation may be held responsible if the explosion was caused by unsafe working conditions, poor maintenance, or failure to comply with federal safety standards. As the facility owner and operator, Valero has a duty to provide a safe workplace.
- Third-party contractors and subcontractors are frequently involved in refinery operations. When their negligence — such as unsafe welding, faulty repairs, or cutting corners on safety — contributes to an explosion, they can also be held liable.
- Equipment manufacturers may be liable if defective machinery, valves, or other components caused or contributed to the blast. In these cases, a product liability claim may be possible.
- Other parties, such as inspection firms, safety consultants, or chemical suppliers, can also face liability if their failures contributed to the creation of hazardous conditions.
What to Do After a Valero Refinery Explosion
In the chaos following a refinery explosion, it can be difficult to know what to do next. However, you need to understand that a large corporation like Valero has the resources to immediately bring in an army of attorneys and investigators to achieve one goal: save money by paying you and you and your family as little as possible, even if that means blaming you and your coworkers, downplaying the extent of your injuries, and losing or even destroying evidence proving the company was at fault.
You need to move just as quickly, as the actions you take in the hours and days that follow could mean the difference between recovering the maximum compensation for all of your injuries and losses and walking away with nothing.
- Get immediate medical attention from a doctor of your choice. Do not rely solely on doctors chosen—and paid—by Valero or its workers’ comp carrier.
- Don’t limit yourself to workers’ comp. Your benefits won’t come close to covering your weekly wages, let alone pain and suffering, future lost wages, and other damages you could recover in a personal injury lawsuit.
- Document the scene and preserve evidence. If possible, take photos or videos of the scene before cleanup efforts cause critical evidence to be lost or destroyed. Preserve the clothes, shoes, and equipment you were wearing in clean plastic bags; don’t launder or alter anything. And take some time to write a full account of the explosion while it’s still fresh in your mind, including any details that might seem insignificant.
- Get witness information. Coworkers and contractors may have seen what happened, and their testimony could be critical in proving your claims.
- Don’t give a recorded statement. The company’s insurer won’t hesitate to use your words against you. You’re under no obligation to provide a statement, and it’s in your best interest not to do so.
- Don’t sign anything or accept any settlement without legal advice. Accepting anything other than your regular paycheck will likely prevent you from filing suit once the true extent of your injuries and their impact on your life becomes apparent.
- Don’t discuss the explosion publicly or on social media. Anything you say could be used to weaken your claim. Limit discussion of the explosion, your injuries, and your case to your spouse and your attorney.
- Assume You’re Under Surveillance: Insurance companies are notorious for surveilling workers in an attempt to downplay or deny their injuries entirely. Even innocent actions on your part could be misconstrued to raise doubts about your credibility.
Contact our Valero Refinery Explosion Lawyers for a Free Consultation at 1-888-603-3636 or by Clicking Here
Our Undefeated Refinery Explosion Lawyers have won Billions for thousands of workers and their families across Texas, Louisiana, and throughout the United States, and we’ve consistently recovered record-setting verdicts and settlements against the largest refinery operators in the world:
- $75 Million Settlement for workers injured in refinery explosion
- $85 Million Settlement for workers seriously injured in chemical plant explosion
- Highly favorable (and confidential) settlements for over 65 workers injured during the Williams explosion in Geismar, Louisiana
If you or a loved one were seriously injured, catastrophically burned, or tragically killed while working at one of Valero’s oil refineries, contact us today for a free consultation at 1-888-603-3636 or send us a confidential email through our Contact Form.
All consultations are free, and you won’t owe us anything unless we win your case.
Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers – Houston
2700 Post Oak Blvd #1000, Houston, TX 77056
(888) 603-3636
Open 24 hours
Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers – Midland
306 W Wall St Suite 701, Midland, TX 79701
(432) 220-0000
Open 24 hours