When the Star Connecticut reefed, it was bound for refineries in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, carrying several types of partially refined oil products from PRI’s Hawaiian Independent Refinery, Inc., as well as 462,000 gallons of its own heavy fuel.
Had it broken apart on the reef, the oil spill resulting would have differed in significant respects from what most people typically think of when oil spills come to mind. Far from it being heavy, black crude that would have soiled O`ahu’s beaches, most of the oil product would have either evaporated or solidified on exposure to the elements.
The cargo of naphtha — 2.65 million barrels — would probably not have reached shore. Naphtha is highly volatile, and while its release would have helped along global warming, none of it would have stayed long in Hawai`i’s waters.
The low-sulfur and high-sulfur vacuum gas oils (4.83 million gallons and 2.44 million gallons respectively) are so thick they must be heated in order to flow (and remain heated once aboard the tanker). When they are brought to room temperature (as they would be if they came into contact with sea water), they solidify into a paraffin-like mass. It might reach shore, but unless it started melting in the mid-day sun, cleanup would be a relatively straightforward operation. As one Coast Guard officer put it, “you’d be taking it off the beaches with a bulldozer.”
About the only “typical” oil aboard the Star Connecticut was its own fuel supply, representing less than 5 percent of its total cargo.
For more information about the oil that Hawai`i exports, we quote from information provided by Stephen E. Schmid of PRI:
“It is commonly believed that a refinery can take a barrel of crude oil and produce a barrel of gasoline. While that idea is appealing, it is physically impossible to accomplish.
“The refining process yields a number of different products such as jet fuel, diesel fuel, naphtha, sulfur, propane, residual fuels and gasoline. A refinery winds up with these products whether it wants them or not. How much of each product we get depends on refining processes and types of crude oils used.
“In any event, a refinery must sell all of the products it manufactures. If it cannot do this, it would be forced to cease operation eventually, if for nothing else, a lack of sufficient storage space.”
Low-sulfur and high-sulfur vacuum gas oils and naphtha “are feedstocks in the refining process. The PRI refinery exports these feedstocks to the U.S. West Coast on a regular basis.
“These feedstocks are by-products of the PRI refining process. In order to produce the products Hawai`i needs, certain excess by-products result. Likewise, there are deficiencies in certain products that the PRI refinery needs in order to make finished petroleum products. PRI must export the excess feedstocks to refiners who can utilize them. Likewise, PRI must import some feedstocks in addition to crude oil in order to properly balance its refining process…
“In addition to the feedstocks PRI has regularly exported, PRI occasionally exports fuel oils and diesel to the Far East. Also, PRI exports small quantities of diesel, jet fuel and gasoline to support its small operations in the South Pacific. The quantity of product exported and the exact destination are proprietary.”
Volume 1, Number 6 December 1990