Chevron sorry for California refinery fire

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RICHMOND, Calif., Aug. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. supermajor Chevron apologized for a fire at a California refinery and announced plans to offer compensation for expenses related to the incident.

A fire broke out at a unit of Chevron's oil refinery in Richmond, Calif., leaving one employee with minor injuries. Emergency officials in the area reported few problems with air quality and the company said the fire was contained by Monday evening.

The company apologized for the fire and smoke from the incident. Area officials ordered people to remain indoors during the incident though winds had shifted much of the smoke over the regional bay.

The company said it set up a claims process to compensate residents for medical and property expenses that may have resulted from the fire. The community will be reimbursed for the emergency response as well.

"We are currently working on cleanup and investigation," the company said in a statement. "We will continue to work with government agencies to determine the cause of the incident and strive to see that it never happens again."

The Richmond refinery is the third-largest in California. It can process more than 242,000 barrels of oil per day. No restart timeline was announced.