-- President George W Bush said on Sep 26 the US would use the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve, if necessary, to mitigate any crude
shortfalls in the wake of Rita. Bush, in a briefing on Rita's impact
to the energy industry, also said the US would extend post-Katrina
EPA waivers to make more gasoline and diesel fuel available, called
for an expansion of US refining capacity, and said he would visit
the Port Arthur/Beaumont, Texas, area on Tuesday.
-- Total said on Sep 26 that its 240,000 b/d refinery in Port
Arthur, Texas, will be closed for an "extended period of time" after
sustaining damage during Hurricane Rita. A statement from Philippe
Guy, the refinery's general manager, also said Total has declared a
force majeure on product deliveries from the plant.
-- The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port is aiming to resume crude
offloading operations the afternoon of Sep 26 after completing
pressure tests on some pipelines at the facility after the passing
of Hurricane Rita, a company spokesman said.
-- ConocoPhillips' 239,000 b/d refinery in Lake Charles,
Louisiana, suffered wind damage during Hurricane Rita and is without
power, the company said, adding that it did not have an immediate
timetable for the plant's restart.
-- Chevron on Sep 26 said an initial assessment has found that
its Typhoon tension leg platform in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico was
severed from its mooring during Hurricane Rita and sustained
"severe" damage as a result.
-- Royal Dutch/Shell plans to restart its 333,700 b/d refinery in
Deer Park, Texas, "in the next few days," a company spokesman said
on Sep 26.
-- Contract driller Diamond Offshore said on Sep 26 that two of
its rigs broke from their moorings during Hurricane Rita and went
adrift in the Gulf of Mexico before grounding about 100 miles from
their original location.
-- Explorer Pipeline said on Sep 26 that its Houston-Pasadena
product pipeline in Texas resumed operations Monday and was running
at 50% of rates.
-- The International Energy Agency is ready to ask its members to
release more oil from emergency stocks if Hurricane Rita turns out
to have had a damaging effect on the US oil industry, IEA Executive
Director Claude Mandil said on Sep 26.
-- Sabine Pipe Line says the force majeure it declared Sep 22
ahead of Rita at its Henry Hub in southern Louisiana will remain in
effect until further notice. The company said Vermilion Parish
officials have reported "an apparent breach of facilities in the
vicinity" of Henry Hub. Sabine added that its personnel had located
and secured two gas releases, with neither sourced from the
pipeline.
-- IntercontinentalExchange on Sep 26 said spot natural gas
transactions were being executed as usual for Tuesday flow. The
company said it doesn't anticipate trading at the Henry Hub due to
the force majeure there, but said all other cash points are trading
as normal.
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fact sheet.
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