Citgo Petroleum has agreed to pay a fine to end more more than 200 alleged air emissions and other violations reported at its refinery between 2017 and 2021.

Among the alleged violations are a leak of 662 pounds of the human carcinogenic benzene on Aug. 22, 2018. Benzene is used primarily as a solvent in the synthesis of gasoline and exposure to it increases the risk of developing leukemia and other blood disorders, according to the National Cancer Institute. 

According to Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality compliance documents, the release occurred during a transfer of benzene products to a barge. The documents said an automatic emergency shutdown system was not in place to prevent the leak.

According to the DEQ, Citgo was required to make a verbal notification within 24 hours after learning of a discharge that exceeded a reportable quantity — which is 10 pounds. That notification was made on Sept. 5, 2018.

Also citied in the compliance documents released by the DEQ is a Sept. 27, 2018, crude oil leak in a storage tank’s floating roof. The 23-hour leak emitted hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic volatile organic compounds evaporating from the exposed 1,377 barrels of liquid crude oil.

“The investigation determined the incident was due to corrosion under the floating roof rim angle that allowed water/product into the pontoons that exceeded the buoyancy of the roof,” the documents read.

If the deal is approved and without making any admission of liability, Citgo will pay $160,000 to DEQ. More than $7,000 of that fine will go toward the department’s enforcement costs to settle the claim. Payment is to be made within 30 days.

This is not the first time Citgo has agreed to pay a civil penalty to resolve Clean Air Act violations. Five years prior to the 2018 alleged violations, the Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Citgo had agreed to pay a $737,000 civil penalty and implement projects to reduce harmful air pollution at its petroleum refining facilities in both Lemont, Ill., and Lake Charles. In the 2013 report, the Environmental Protection Agency alleged the Lake Charles refinery produced fuel that exceeded the refinery’s annual average emissions limit for mobile source air toxics, including benzene. EPA further alleged that Citgo failed to sample and test reformulated gasoline blendstock at its Lemont refinery, as required by the CAA.

Under a separate Department of Justice settlement in 2021, the company agreed to pay $19.7 million for a 2006 spill of millions of gallons of waste oil and industrial wastewater into the Calcasieu River during a four-day rain event.

Citgo is set to be sold to an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management in a U.S. court auction, according to a September 2024 announcement. A U.S. district court in Delaware is auctioning shares in its parent company, PDV Holding, to repay up to $21.3 billion in claims against Venezuela and state-oil firm PDVSA for expropriations and debt defaults. Venezuela is the current owner of Citgo.