JUNE 22, 2015
Glenville, MN
A Poet Llc ethanol plant in Minnesota was shut down following a Sunday morning blast that injured two people, according to the U.S. biofuels producer.
The
Glenville facility was closed for investigation into a fire and
explosion that occurred on Sunday just after 3 a.m., plant General
Manager Steve McNinch said in an emailed statement.
There is no
timeline yet for restarting the plant, which produces about 45 million
gallons of ethanol annually, a Poet spokesman told Reuters on Monday.
Two employees were injured and taken to the hospital, McNinch said.
Chicago Board of Trade ethanol futures were up 1.1 percent at $1.492 a gallon by 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT).
The
shutdown was not expected to have an immediate impact on prices as the
plant is relatively small and ethanol stocks are high, according to
traders.
U.S. ethanol inventories total over 20.7 million barrels,
or 870 million gallons, near the three-year highs touched earlier this
year.
Poet is one of the United States' biggest ethanol producers.
The privately based, Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based company has four
plants in Minnesota alone.