U.S. Gulf Coast Energy Infrastructure Shuttered by Harvey

 

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Harvey came ashore just west of Cameron, Louisiana, and was expected to weaken to a tropical depression by Wednesday evening.

 

Numerous refineries, terminals, drilling platforms and other infrastructure have shut. At least 4.2 million bpd of refining capacity was offline, or more than 22 percent of total U.S. capacity, based on company reports and Reuters estimates. The Gulf is home to nearly half of U.S. refining capacity.

 

Texas is home to 5.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity, and neighboring Louisiana has 3.3 million bpd.

 

Valero Energy Corp's 335,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery was shut on Wednesday morning, according to sources familiar with plant operations. Total SA (TTFNF)'s 225,500-bpd Port Arthur, Texas, refinery was shut by an early-Wednesday power outage, Gulf Coast market sources said.

 

Motiva Enterprises began shutting down its 603,000-bpd Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the nation's largest, on Tuesday evening due to flooding within the plant, said sources familiar with plant operations.

 

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 18 percent, or 319,523 bpd, of current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was shut versus about 19 percent a day earlier, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.