Refiners Largely Continue Operations Amid Winter Storm

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--By and large, the U.S.' refining fleet in the Midwest and South is toughing it out and churning out petroleum products during what has been called a once-in-a-generation winter storm.

The storm, dubbed Winter Storm Elliott by The Weather Channel, has swept across much of the U.S., often causing temperatures to plunge between 30 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit in a matter of hours.

However, the nation's refineries largely seem determined to maintain operations in the face of the icy blast. One exception is Cross Oil Refining & Marketing Incorporated's 7,500-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) refinery in Smackover, Arkansas, which planned to shut down on Thursday due to severe cold. The plant was expected to remain down until early next week.

Also, Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (Calgary, Alberta) experienced an upset in Plant 1 (West Plant) at its 98,000-BBL/d Denver Refinery located in Commerce City, Colorado, causing multiple units to shut down early Thursday. Sources indicated the situation was weather related. The units were expected to be back in production later Thursday or early Friday.

However, the situation could be different in the Northeast, where New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency and issued a traffic ban on part of Interstate 90 that begins Friday at 6 a.m. EST due to the incoming storm.

Among Chemical Processing facilities, many ethylene units have continued operations along the Texas Gulf Coast, but some derivative and downstream units were shutting down. Chevron Phillips Chemical (The Woodlands, Texas) planned to shut down its plastics complex in Pasadena, Texas. On the other hand, INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA (League City, Texas) planned to maintain operations at its 1,700 million-pound-per-year Olefins 1, 1,950 million-pound-per-year Olefins 2 and other processing units at its Alvin (Chocolate Bayou) site in Texas.

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