Sources say that Whiting refinery, a BP facility in Indiana, is delaying its return to service.

Industry sources say that the return to service for BP Whiting Indiana refinery is delayed.

BP began the planned turnaround activity for its refinery that produces 435,000 barrels per day in late September. In early November, the refinery restarted units that were involved in the turnaround.

Sources claim that at least two units are experiencing startup delays.

Sources said that the refinery's 250,000 barrels per calendar day (bcd), sour crude distillation unit, and its 102,000 bcd coker had issues with the restart. These units should be online by this week.

Whiting, the largest refinery in the Midwest of the United States, produces liquid fuels.

Since mid-November, the price of gasoline in Chicago has risen by at least 11c per gallon.

BP released an alert Monday regarding flaring at Whiting refinery. The company stated that flares are a safety device which helps refineries safely manage excessive gases during maintenance or operational disruptions.

A BP spokesperson confirmed that the flaring ended on Monday.

The company didn't immediately respond to questions about units that had problems during startup.

In February, BP closed the refinery for a little over a month because of a power outage that affected the entire plant. (Reporting and editing by David Gregorio, Bill Berkrot and Shariq Khal in New York)

(source: Reuters)