Ophelia Barrels Down on Ireland

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Hurricane Ophelia, downgraded to tropical storm by the time it made landfall, hit the western shores of Ireland on Monday, with more than 2,200 industrial plants in its path. Wind gusts of more than 90 miles per hour slammed into Ireland, knocking out power for an estimated 385,000 customers, including industrial plants. Much of Ireland was on Red Alert on Monday, with Scotland remaining watching and on a Yellow Alert level for certain districts. For more information, see October 16, 2017, article - Ophelia Pounds Ireland, Knocks Out Power.

Industrial Info is monitoring the storm through its Disaster Impact Tracker, which shows the course of the storm and its potential impact on plant operations. The Disaster Impact Tracker allows users to see the plants that are affected by a natural disaster and those that could be impacted by future weather-related events. The tool uses third-party organizations to obtain the most accurate information on natural disaster and how they affect plants within the disaster zone.

Among the affected plants is Irving Oil Limited's (Saint John, New Brunswick) 75,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) refinery in Whitegate, Ireland. The refinery shut down in anticipation of the storm. For information on the plant, see Industrial Info's plant profile.

As the storm heads on a northeasterly trajectory toward Scotland, INEOS (Rolle, Switzerland) planned to keep its 215,000-BBL/d refinery and 1.8 billion-pound-per-year ethylene plant open in Grangemouth, Scotland. Plant personnel were not expecting any operational issues related to the storm. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.

Most of the power outages in Ireland seem due to transmission and infrastructure interruptions, and the country's power plants continue to operate. The storm is one of the most powerful ever to hit the eastern Atlantic. The storm was the 10th hurricane recorded this season in the Atlantic. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, no other hurricanes are present at the moment.

The storm was expected to make landfall in Britain late Monday or early Tuesday, according to Britain's Met Office. Industrial Info will continue tracking this storm as the active 2017 hurricane season continues.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.