Oil sector disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy

London (Platts)--29Oct2012/750 am EDT/1150 GMT

Hurricane Sandy is currently heading north towards the US mid-Atlantic coastline, packing maximum sustained winds of around 85 mph, according to an update from the US National Hurricane Center at 0900 GMT Monday.

The storm has already caused substantial disruption to oil market infrastructure. Below is a summary of the main impact so far:

Refineries

--Phillips 66 said Sunday it was shutting down its 238,000 b/d refinery in Bayway, New Jersey, as a precaution ahead of Hurricane Sandy. "We expect the refinery to be completely shut down by early Monday morning," the company said on its website.

--Hess started running its 70,000 b/d Port Reading, New Jersey, refinery at reduced rates starting at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) Sunday.

--The 330,000 b/d Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery has implemented a hurricane preparedness plan.

--The recently restarted Trainer, Pennsylvania, refinery is also on storm alert.

--PBF Energy said its refineries in Delaware and New Jersey were operating normally but that it had "comprehensive preparedness and response plans in place." PBF operates the 190,000 b/d Delaware City, Delaware, refinery and the 180,000 b/d Paulsboro, New Jersey, refinery.

--NuStar said Saturday it was in the process of shutting its asphalt refinery in Paulsboro, New Jersey.

--United Refining said its 70,000 b/d refinery in Warren, Pennsylvania, was not expected to be impacted by Sandy because of its location well inland.

Ports and terminals

--Statoil said Sunday its 6.7-million barrel South Riding Point crude storage terminal in the Bahamas remained shut but was expected to resume operations this week. The terminal was shut October 25 as Hurricane Sandy approached the Bahamas.

--NuStar shut terminal operations at its Linden, New Jersey, facility Sunday. The Linden storage terminal has 23 tanks with a total capacity of 4.1 million barrels of refined products storage.

--NuStar also shut its 40,000 barrel storage facility in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Saturday.

--Phillips 66 said Sunday that terminals in Riverhead, New York, and Tremley Point, New Jersey, have been shut down, and that its Linden, New Jersey, terminal was expected to be shut by Monday morning.

--Hess also said Sunday that terminal operations had been temporarily suspended or expected to be suspended at its New York Harbor, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia facilities during the storm. Hess terminals in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina were expected to remain open.

--US East Coast ports from Baltimore to New York Harbor were effectively shut by the approach of the storm Sunday, a spokesman for the Chesapeake and Interstate Federal Pilots said.

Exchanges and markets

--Electronic trading in the CME group's energy commodities futures and options contracts will be open as normal Monday, though the NYMEX trading floor will be closed because of Hurricane Sandy, a CME official in Singapore said.

--US East Coast marketers expect light fuel demand as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the region, while they focus on possible power outages and fuel waivers, Dan Gilligan, president of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, said Sunday.

Pipelines

--Colonial Pipeline said Sunday it was continuing to operate normally its energy infrastructure along the US East Coast.

--Staff reports, newsdesk@platts.com
--Edited by Maurice Geller, maurice_geller@platts.com