Crude oil refineries and ports in Texas and Louisiana will restart soon after they assess the damage and pass safety inspections in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura which swept through the region overnight on August 27. Citgo Petroleum and Phillips 66 operate large refineries near Lake Charles, Louisiana which was within the path of Laura. Over 2.3 million bpd refining capacity was shut ahead of Laura’s landfall.
Motiva, Exxon, Total, and Valero Energy still put their refineries in Port Arthur, Texas offline. Chevron’s refinery in Pasadena was also offline. Those refineries are preparing to restart processing after passing safety inspections. Motiva said its Port Arthur refinery sustained minimal damages, while an Exxon spokesperson said its Baton Rouge and Baytown complexes continued to operate safely.
US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said initial reports showed damages at refineries and other energy infrastructure were relatively light. He noted that thousands of utility workers from other states were being deployed to Louisiana to restore power quickly, which will help the refineries to restart. Industry analysts said the widespread power outages might drag refinery shutdowns for days.
An official from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) said the port’s oil-shipping facility remained closed and might reopen as early as Friday if it sustained no severe damages. New Orleans area ports were open, with some of them imposing restrictions. In Texas, the Houston Ship Channel managed to avoid any significant storm impacts and reopened on Thursday. The ports of Galveston, Houston, Freeport, and Texas City all opened on Thursday, but with some restrictions.
