Colonial Pipeline Returns to Near Normal Capacity After Hurricanes

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Earlier this week Colonial Pipeline Company's (Alpharetta, Georgia) pipeline system returned to the same flow-rates for gasoline deliveries that it was running before Hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit the Gulf Coast refining region, which resulted in 14 refineries temporarily shutting down. The pipeline is currently running at less than 85% capacity with additional space available as the refineries continue to ramp up production.

According to Colonial Pipeline Company, after each of the hurricanes passed, the company was able to return the pipeline to fully functioning capability. Because the refineries were temporally disabled -- mainly because of power outages -- there were supply shortages in southeast markets such as Atlanta, Georgia, and Greensboro, North Carolina, which are served by Colonial. The supply shortages resulted in empty storage tanks at gas stations, long lines to fill up and spikes in gasoline prices.

Beginning Monday, the southeast markets were starting to see an increased supply of fuel, providing some relief but not completely mitigating the problem. It is expected that it may take up to two weeks to get back to business as usual. On Monday, September 29, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that only two of 33 Gulf Coast refineries affected by the hurricanes remain closed. Nevertheless, 13 others were still either in restart mode or running at reduced rates.

Colonial Pipeline Company operates a 5,519-mile network of underground pipeline and delivers refined liquid fuels to more than 120 million people in 13 states from Texas to New York City. On a daily basis, the company delivers an average of 95 million gallons of gasoline, kerosene, home heating oils, diesel fuels and national defense fuels to 267 marketing terminals. Colonial's mainline is composed of two 36-inch diameter pipelines capable of delivering 100 million gallons of fuel daily to the Eastern Seaboard. One pipeline is dedicated to gasoline, while the other ships diesel, aviation fuels, heating oil and other products.

The pipeline is the world's largest refined petroleum products pipeline system by volume, sending batches of refined products varying in size from 75,000 barrels to 3.2 million barrels. Products travel through the pipeline at three to five miles-per-hour; faster speeds are achieved by sending larger volumes. To move a batch of product from Houston to New York generally takes between 14 to 24 days, averaging 18.5 days.

View Plant Profiles - 1034001 1052537 1052533 1078229 1510349 1052532 1052516 1015181 1502003 1514712 1052514 1052528 1014239 1052539 1047468

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.