UpdateUS Philadelphia refinery to restart following Sandy

30 October 2012 23:35  [Source: ICIS news]

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HOUSTON (ICIS)--Philadelphia Energy Solutions expects its refinery in Pennsylvania to resume normal operations by midday Wednesday, following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the US company said on Tuesday.

The 335,000 bbl/day site in Philadelphia began reducing operating rates on Monday in preparation for the storm, said the company, which is a joint venture between The Carlyle Group and Sunoco.

Normal operations are pending resumption of waterborne crude deliveries, the company said.

Meanwhile, DuPont said it had temporarily closed its Wilmington office in Delaware and research facilities as well as seven sites as the region dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Closures included Wilmington area offices and research centres, as well as facilities in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, the company said.

DuPont’s Edge Moor facilities in Delaware manufactures titanium dioxide (TiO2) and ferric chloride. It has a TiO2 capacity of 155,000 tonnes/year, according to ICIS plants and projects.

More than 8.2m customers are still without power in the northeast, the US Department of Energy (DOE) said.

Phillips 66’s 238,000 bbl/day refinery in Linden, New Jersey, is without power, and there is some flooding in low-lying areas at the site, the company said. Its three storage terminals in the New Jersey/New York region are still shut down.

Hess’s 70,000 bbl/day refinery in Port Reading, New Jersey, is also without power, said the DOE, quoting trade sources.

Monroe Energy is still operating at reduced rates at its 185,000 bbl/day refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania, the DOE said. PBF also reduced rates at its 182,200 bbl/day facility Delaware City, Delaware, and its 160,000 bbl/day Paulsboro, New Jersey, refineries.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ will reopen on Wednesday after Hurricane Sandy caused a two-day suspension in market trading.

Midstream company Williams has rescheduled the release of its third-quarter results for Wednesday, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday but delayed because of the storm’s disruption to financial markets.

So far, the storm has killed at least 33 people in the US, according to media reports.

The hurricane could cause about $5bn (€3.85bn) in damages and an additional $10bn in economic damages in the US northeast, according to EQECAT, a risk assessment firm.

($1 = €0.78)

By: Tracy Dang
+1 713 525 2653

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