Texas refinery blast triggers smoke plume, shelter-in-place in Port Arthur

A large explosion at Valero's Port Arthur refinery in Texas sent a thick smoke plume into the air and prompted shelter-in-place orders, which were lifted about 12 hours later as officials said there were no fatalities or injuries. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality deployed air-monitoring teams and Valero coordinated with local authorities; the refinery employs about 770 people and processes roughly 435,000 barrels per day. The incident comes amid volatility in oil and gas prices linked to global supply concerns tied to the Iran war.