Iran Press/ America: A series of explosions early Friday tore through a Philadelphia gasoline refinery, the East Coast’s largest, sending shock waves for miles and raining debris on nearby neighborhoods, just as the busy summer driving season was beginning.
Four minor injuries were reported, according to the Philadelphia Fire Department, CNBC reported.
"The three-alarm fire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery was contained but not under control," the fire department said. About 120 firefighters worked to cool off the areas around the fire to keep it from spreading.
According to NBC Philadelphia, The fire turned the sky bright orange and shook the homes of startled residents. Some neighbors in South Philadelphia said debris rained from the sky into their neighborhoods after the explosions.
The outage occurred as the U.S. summer driving season kicks into high gear.
Gasoline futures jumped 3.5% Friday morning. Because RBOB futures reflect New York harbor prices, they are especially impacted by an outage in a refinery in Philadelphia, an important regional refining hub. In addition to the average $2.66 per gallon, pump prices on the East Coast could rise 3 cents to 5 cents per gallon as a result of the explosion, Wells Fargo said in a note to clients Friday.
Natural gas prices also rose 1 percent.
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