Biggest Oil Refineries in U.S. Are Going Dark Amid the Cold

Source: Bloomberg via Yahoo
Published: Feb 15, 2021
Author: Jeffrey Bair and Barbara Powell
Post Date: 2021-02-15 18:46:16 by Dakmar
Views: 281

After creating havoc in the power and natural gas markets, the next commodity sector causing concern in Texas is the state’s enormous oil refining industry, where installations are being forced offline by the big freeze.

The largest refineries in North America were shutting down Monday because of arctic conditions that have cut electricity, water and fuel supplies across Texas. More than 3 million barrels of daily oil-processing capacity has been idled in the wake of the record-setting cold, according to consultant Energy Aspects Ltd.

The shutdowns portend tightening supplies and higher prices for everything from gasoline to propane in coming days and weeks in cities across the country that rely on the U.S. Gulf Coast for fuels. The impact on fuel supplied by pipeline will likely spread far beyond Texas if the outages last more than a few days, considering that the oil industry had already cut back production during the pandemic. The Gulf Coast supplies more than three-fifths of the East Coast’s fuel.

Gasoline futures rose 3.5% to $1.75 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday as traders watched developments in Texas:

Saudi Aramco’s Motiva Enterprises LLC is halting operations at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the nation’s largest, according to an email from the company.Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s Galveston Bay plant south of Houston was shut in response to the chill, Reuters reported.Exxon Mobil Corp. shut its massive Baytown refinery near Houston, as well as some units at its refinery in the town of Beaumont about 70 miles (112 kilometers) to the east, spokeswoman Sarah Nordin said. In addition to the cold, the Beaumont closure was also driven by a shortage of natural gas.Total SE ratcheted down crude processing to minimal levels and shut a key refining unit at its Port Arthur, Texas, plant, a person familiar with operations said. The refinery probably will shut completely within hours as temperatures drop, the person said.

Poster Comment:

Uhhh, isn't there a pipeline in Alaska?

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#1: Esso    To: Dakmar, 4um (#0)

Uhhh, isn't there a pipeline in Alaska?

There was. Bidet was talking about shutting those down too. Keystone XL and the Dakota lines are tango-uniform now.

Esso posted on 2021-02-15 19:32:21   Reply   Private Reply

#2: Dakmar    To: Esso (#1)

Can Burisma handle the volume we'll need to keep from freezing/starving to death, or is that part of the plan?

Dakmar posted on 2021-02-15 19:36:30   Reply   Private Reply

#3: Dakmar    To: All (#2)

Of course all those tanker ships won't be exactly environmentally friendly.

Dakmar posted on 2021-02-15 19:37:34   Reply   Private Reply

#4: Esso    To: Dakmar, 4um (#2)

...or is that part of the plan?

You're joking, right?

Esso posted on 2021-02-15 19:38:07   Reply   Private Reply

#5: Dakmar    To: Esso (#4)

I wish I was.

Dakmar posted on 2021-02-15 19:38:46   Reply   Private Reply

#6: Lod    To: Dakmar (#0)

Prolly very wise to shut'em down until we get well above freezing down there.

Lod posted on 2021-02-15 20:41:53   Reply   Private Reply

#7: Dakmar    To: Lod (#6)

per Trans-Alaska Pipeline System:

The pipeline has been shown capable of delivering over 2 million barrels of oil per day but nowadays usually operates at a fraction of maximum capacity. If flow were to stop or throughput were too little, the line could freeze.

...

The 2012 flow of 600,000 bbd is significantly less than what the pipeline was designed for. Low flowrates require that the oil move slower through the line, meaning that its temperature drops more than in high-flow situations. A freeze in the line would block a pig in the line, which would force a shutdown and repairs.[144] A 2011 engineering report by Alyeska stated that, to avoid freezing, heaters would need to be installed at several pump stations.

IOW, the pipeline operates without any external heat sources (or did until recently)

I looked on Google maps, there are indeed oil refineries in Canada, which is significantly colder than the US. I've never heard of Canada shutting down for the winter. Ice Road Truckers routinely drive in -40F weather, they've got to be getting that fuel from somewhere.

Dakmar posted on 2021-02-16 07:56:58   Reply   Private Reply

#8: BTP Holdings    To: Dakmar (#7)

Ice Road Truckers

Yep. And they use #1 Diesel fuel and gallons of anti-gel to keep the fuel thin enough to flow. ;)

BTP Holdings posted on 2021-02-16 08:51:24   Reply   Private Reply

#9: Dakmar    To: BTP Holdings (#8)

Gelling

DIN 51601 diesel fuel was prone to waxing or gelling in cold weather; both are terms for the solidification of diesel oil into a partially crystalline state. The crystals build up in the fuel system (especially in fuel filters), eventually starving the engine of fuel and causing it to stop running.[206] Low-output electric heaters in fuel tanks and around fuel lines were used to solve this problem. Also, most engines have a spill return system, by which any excess fuel from the injector pump and injectors is returned to the fuel tank. Once the engine has warmed, returning warm fuel prevents waxing in the tank. Before direct injection diesel engines, some manufacturers, such as BMW, recommended mixing up to 30% petrol in with the diesel by fuelling diesel cars with petrol to prevent the fuel from gelling when the temperatures dropped below −15 °C.

I know you probably know all this, being a truck driver for so many years, but my point is they still need to get that fuel from somewhere.

Dakmar posted on 2021-02-16 09:07:52   Reply   Private Reply

#10: NeoconsNailed    To: Nobody (#9)

Isn't it 'jelling'?

www.dictionary.com/misspelling?term=gell&s=t

NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-02-16 11:52:29   Reply   Private Reply

#11: BTP Holdings    To: Dakmar (#9)

they need to get that fuel from somewhere

I would imagine there are refineries in Canada since they do have oil production.

After all, the now Bidette-cancelled Keystone XL pipeline was being built to transport Canadian oil into the U.S. to refineries in Illinois, I do believe. ;)

BTP Holdings posted on 2021-02-16 17:21:47   Reply   Private Reply

#12: BTP Holdings    To: NeoconsNailed (#10)

'jelling'

It is exactly that. ;)

BTP Holdings posted on 2021-02-16 17:27:01   Reply   Private Reply

#13: Esso    To: BTP Holdings, 4um (#11)

After all, the now Bidette-cancelled Keystone XL pipeline was being built to transport Canadian oil into the U.S. to refineries in Illinois, I do believe.

No, I think most XL was going to Cushing, OK. You might be thinking of the shutdown Dakota pipeline. I guess Alaska projects have also been nixed.

It's hard to keep up without a pipeline map at hand.

Esso posted on 2021-02-16 18:00:22   Reply   Private Reply

#14: NeoconsNailed    To: BTP Holdings (#11)

Thus closed pipeline projects mean more monster freeze crises? Is it that simple, is that the gist of the article? I just can't sit here and read everything in detail.

People are asking why the border fence is still up around the capitol and the National Guard deployed. Obviously it's to keep Bidette's victims from giving him what he's begging for :-s

NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-02-16 18:23:42   Reply   Private Reply

#15: Esso    To: BTP Holdings, 4um (#11)

Here ya go, B. Gov babe Kristy talks about the cancelled Dakota project.

Note: She has 'Esso Approved Eyes' (Not black).

Kristi Noem takes on Bill Gates' latest environmental demands

Esso posted on 2021-02-16 20:58:45   Reply   Private Reply

#16: NeoconsNailed    To: Esso (#15)

Two attractive women are speaking in itty-bitty girl voices like most do on screens, but they're talking sense. Doesn't compute!

NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-02-18 03:23:49   Reply   Private Reply

#17: BTP Holdings    To: Esso (#15)

We used to drive on West Virginia Turnpke. There was a mountain there with a 20' thick seam of coal showing. One time drove thru there and the mountain was gone. They came in and chopped off the top to get at the seam of coal. That was likely 15 years ago. The memory on the time frame is a bit blurred because of the meningitis. :-/

BTP Holdings posted on 2021-02-19 11:07:20   Reply   Private Reply

#18: BTP Holdings    To: Esso (#13)

Alaska projects

And what will Japan do now that they will no longer be getting their oil from the Alaska Pipeline? ;)

BTP Holdings posted on 2021-02-19 11:12:12   Reply   Private Reply