HOUSTON, Sept 12 (Askume) – Six Louisiana oil refineries in the path of Hurricane Francine resumed work on Thursday after the storm passed overnight, sources familiar with the companies and plant operations said.
Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) said on Thursday that its 522,500 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had no major damage.
“Our facilities in the Baton Rouge area are operating normally,” said ExxonMobil spokeswoman Lauren Kite. “We will continue to meet our commitments to our customers.”
The Baton Rouge refinery was operating near maximum output Thursday morning, people familiar with plant operations said. As the storm approached and moved north from Louisiana, ExxonMobil cut refinery capacity by 20%.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, the Baton Rouge Refinery is the sixth largest US refinery by capacity.
Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) on Thursday declined to discuss the status of its 597,0000 barrel-per-day refinery in Garyville, Louisiana, the fourth-largest U.S. refinery.
A source familiar with the plant’s operations was not aware of the refinery’s status. Entergy, the regional power provider for the Garyville area, reported several major outages.
A diesel hydrocracking unit at Shell’s (SHEL.L) Norco, Louisiana refinery, which produces 233,702 barrels per day, was shut down Wednesday night due to the storm , two people familiar with the plant’s operations said on Thursday.
Shell was continuing to assess damage to the refinery’s 40,000 barrel-per-day hydrocracking unit on Thursday morning, two sources said.
Shell confirmed in an online statement that it was assessing damage to Norco and nearby chemical plants.
“At this early stage, there is no significant damage to the facility from wind, rain or storm surge,” the company said.
PBF Energy’s 190,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana, was operating normally on Thursday, a source familiar with plant operations said.
A PBF spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
A Valero spokesman did not respond to requests for comment about the company’s 215,000 barrel-per-day St. Charles refinery in Norco and its 125,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Merlock, Louisiana.
