Storm threat shuts down US coastal refinery, adding to offshore oil production losses

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Threatened flooding from a storm in the US Gulf of Mexico that has cut nearly a third of the region’s oil production has forced the shutdown of a coastal refinery, pushing oil and gasoline prices higher, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Phillips 66 said it expected to complete the closing its 253,600-barrel-per-day (bpd) Alliance, Louisiana, refinery this morning after local authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation of the area.

Oil companies have shut a third of offshore US Gulf of Mexico production ahead of the storm that could become Hurricane Barry late Friday, according to a National Weather Service (NWS) forecast.

Offshore oil and gas platforms operated by Anadarko Petroleum, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and others were evacuated, and many halted production, according to company reports.

Crude futures, which rose more than 4% on Wednesday, were fractionally higher on Thursday, with U.S. crude trading at USD60.60, the highest since May. Gasoline futures also rose a fraction.

On Thursday morning, the potential storm was about 115 miles (185 km) southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving west at about 5 miles per hour (7 km per hour). It could make landfall on Saturday on the Louisiana coast, forecasters said.

The potential storm could become a Category 1 hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) and drive ocean water up the Mississippi, forecasters said. The storm surge is projected to be 3 feet to 6 feet (.9 meter to 1.8 meters), according to the weather service.

The Alliance refinery sits next to the river 39 miles (63 km) south of New Orleans. The last hurricane to flood the refinery was 2012’s Hurricane Isaac. The refinery was also shut by Hurricane Gustav in 2008 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In 2017, Hurricane Nate led Phillips 66 to shut the refinery, which was restarted within days as the storm turned away from the area.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- CNOOC Ningbo Daxie has undertaken a planned maintenance at its No. 1 Propylene unit in Zhejiang, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has commenced turnaround at the plant on July 9, 2019. The plant is expected to remain off-line for around 8-10 days.

Located at Ningbo in Zhejiang province of China, the No. 1 propylene plant has a production capacity of 420,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, on 16 October, China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore their existing collaboration and the development of petrochemical manufacturing facilities at the Nanhai site in Huizhou, Guangdong province.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- PBF Energy and Valero Energy Corp do not plan to idle their refineries in Chalmette and Meraux, Louisiana, respectively ahead of a developing tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico, reported Reuters with reference to sources.

Phillips 66 announced on Wednesday night it would temporarily shut its 253,600 barrel-per-day Alliance, Louisiana, refinery ahead of the storm. The Alliance refinery faces a greater flooding threat and is outside the flood protection levee system along the Mississippi River.

Company spokeswoman Lillian Riojas said Valero is "closely monitoring the storm, following our hurricane preparedness plan, as well as coordinating with appropriate local agencies."

PBF spokesman Michael Karalovich declined to discuss operations at the refinery.

The 190,000 bpd PBF Chalmette refinery and the 125,000 bpd Valero Meraux refinery are located 1.6 miles (2.5 km) from each other in the eastern suburbs of New Orleans and about 17 miles north from the Alliance refinery.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- US crude oil production will rise to an all-time high of 12.36 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019 from a record high of 10.96 million bpd last year, reported Reuters with reference to the Energy Information Administration's Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO).

The latest July output projection for 2019 was up from EIA's 12.32 million bpd forecast in June.

EIA also projected US petroleum and other liquid fuels consumption would rise to 20.70 million bpd in 2019 from 20.45 million bpd a year ago.

That would be the most since 2005 when petroleum and other liquid fuels consumption hit a record high of 20.80 million bpd.

The 2019 demand projection in the July STEO report was up from EIA's 20.64 million bpd forecast for the year in June.

EIA projected output in 2020 would rise to 13.26 million bpd and demand would rise to an all-time high of 20.91 million bpd.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) has taken off-stream its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant at Pasadena in Texas, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the US informed that the company has halted operations at the plant on July 7, 2019 owing mechanical glitch. The exact duration of the unplanned outage could not be ascertained.

Located at Pasadena, Texas in the US, the PE plant has a HDPE production capacity of 930,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported previously, in June 2017, Chevron Phillips Chemical successfully completed a low viscosity polyalphaolefins (PAO) capacity expansion at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas. The 20% capacity expansion enables the company to meet the increasing demand for lubricants in automotive and industrial applications. Chevron Phillips Chemical develops and produces PAOs, marketed under the brand name Synfluid PAO, which are used for a variety of applications including engine oils, gear oils and greases.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.

Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company with a portfolio of integrated businesses: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties. The company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Phillips 66 Partners, its master limited partnership, is an integral part of the portfolio.
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