Hurricane Ida forced off line more than 2mn b/d of Louisiana refining capacity, which may take weeks to recover amid heavy inland flooding and widespread power outages.
Two of the region's largest refineries, Marathon Petroleum's 565,000 b/d Garyville site and ExxonMobil's 500,000 b/d Baton Rouge facility, were shut down today, the companies said. ExxonMobil Baton Rouge had previously only shut down some units but widespread power outages led to its complete shutdown today.
PBF Energy's 190,000 b/d Chalmette refinery has been without power since yesterday, when 22 barges docked on the Mississippi river near the facility broke loose, stoking concerns over a possible collision with levees along river.
In total, seven Louisiana refineries comprising 2.1mn b/d of throughput capacity were confirmed off line today. Assessment was underway at facilities today to determine the extent of damages, which, if significant, could lead to days or even weeks of effects on demand in the US Gulf coast crude market.
Hurricane Ida made landfall yesterday as a Category 4 storm near Port Fourchon in south-central Louisiana, bringing 150mph (240km/h) winds along with storm surge and heavy rainfall. The eight major power transmission lines serving the New Orleans area were knocked down, according to local utility Entergy, which said full power restoration to the region could take weeks.
Refined product pipelines and fuel distribution systems were also affected by the storm. The Colonial pipeline shut lines 1 and 2, the main gasoline and distillate pipes running from Houston, Texas, to Greensboro, North Carolina, but said service is expected to be restored later today. Fuel supplies continued to be available today throughout the southeast, Colonial said.
Kinder Morgan' 700,000 b/d Products (SE) Pipe Line system — formerly known as Plantation — was operating normally today but mainline operations may need to be curtailed later because of the loss of power at its Baton Rouge terminal. The system moves refined products from Louisiana to Virginia.
The National Hurricane Center said the threat of heavy rainfall and flooding was spreading across Mississippi, Alabama and much of the Florida panhandle this afternoon as the storm tracked northeast inland from the Gulf coast.
Chevron did not provide a status update on its 356,000 b/d refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, except to say it was "conducting post-storm assessments."
Source: Argus