DENVER (AP) - A Sunday morning power failure at the 90,000-barrel-a-day Suncor Energy Inc. oil refinery in the Denver suburb of Commerce City knocked part of the facility out of commission and slashed production capacity, the company reported Sunday.
The Canadian company said power was interrupted at the facility about 9 a.m. Sunday and forced a complete shutdown of the site's west plant. The west plant processes sour crude, which contains more impurities than sweet crude.
The east side of the facility remained operational. But the company reported that with parts of the refinery off-line, production would be reduced.
The company said there were no injuries or damage to the plant.
'We have additional operations and maintenance personnel on site and we are working to safely return to normal operations as soon as possible,' Bill Buckalew, general manager of refinery for Suncor Energy USA, said in a news release.
The Colorado Department of Health and Environment was notified of the disruption, and Suncor is investigating the cause of the power interruption.
The company's Web site says the refinery supplies about 35 percent of Colorado's gasoline and diesel fuel and is a major supplier of jet fuel at Denver International Airport and the largest supplier of paving-grade asphalt in the state.
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