U.S. eastern oil refiners shut some plants
Oil refiners in the U.S. Northeast, including Sunoco Inc., ConocoPhillips, PBF Energy Co. LLC, Hess Corp. and NuStar Energy LP, are shutting some of their combined daily capacity of 1.5 million barrels and are preparing to close more as Hurricane Irene approaches the area.
NuStar shut its Paulsboro, New Jersey, refinery today, Greg Matula, a spokesman for the Springfield, Massachusetts-based company spokesman, said in an e-mail. The 74,000-barrel-a-day refinery is expected to restart Aug. 29, Matula said.
Hess plans to reduce rates at its Port Reading, New Jersey, refinery starting tonight as a precaution against hurricane damage. The New York-based company said in an e-mailed statement it will close its truck-loading facility to customers at 8 p.m. local time. Workers are preparing the refinery for high winds and storm water and will adjust operating plans as needed.
Sunoco is taking “appropriate precautions based on the latest information to protect people and the environment and minimize impacts to operations” at its Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia refineries, Thomas Golembeski, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail.
ConocoPhillips plans to cut rates at its Bayway refinery in New Jersey as Hurricane Irene approaches, according to a person with knowledge of the plans.
The refinery intends to begin reducing rates 24 hours prior to the storm’s arrival, the person, who declined to be identified because the information isn’t public, said yesterday.
Ready to Shut
ConocoPhillips’s Bayway and Trainer “refinery operations and personnel staffing have been adjusted to allow a complete and orderly and phased shut down if needed” according to a posting on the company’s website. The company’s east coast terminals are preparing to close, the posting said.
The Bayway refinery has a capacity of 238,000 barrels a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
PBF hasn’t decided whether to change operations at either its Delaware or New Jersey refineries, Michael Gayda, a company spokesman, said yesterday in a telephone interview. “We continue to make preparations based on a comprehensive plan,” said Gayda. “Depending on the severity of the storm and the track it takes we’ll make adjustments as we go along.”
Colonial Pipeline Co. shut some of its lines in North Carolina and Virginia because of power outages and other problems associated with Hurricane Irene.
Pipe operations near Selma, North Carolina, and east of Richmond, Virginia, to Norfolk are down due to power losses and personnel evacuations, spokesman Steve Baker said in an e-mailed statement. Alpharetta, Georgia-based Colonial said additional lines serving coastal areas in Virginia and Maryland may also be disrupted.
Mainline operations in the U.S. Southeast and Gulf Coast haven’t been affected by the storm, Baker said. The company’s pipelines carry petroleum products like gasoline and diesel fuel.