Lax Safety Procedures Caused Husky Refinery Fire, Probe Finds

The 2018 explosion and fire at the Husky Superior Refinery in northern Wisconsin could have been prevented if plant operators had been sufficiently trained to avoid allowing air into refinery components filled with flammable hydrocarbons, a federal investigation concluded.

Cenovus Energy Inc. acquired Husky Energy in January 2021 and renamed it Cenovus Energy Superior Refinery. Cenovus has said it hopes to reopen the plant in early 2023.

Cenovus in a written statement about the report said the company incorporated all the CSB’s recommendations into the plant’s rebuilding, including installing a control system with enhanced safety shutdowns and process control, adding ...