US East Coast refineries hit by Hurricane Sandy

Phillips 66’s 238,000 barrel per day plant in Bayway, New Jersey, US, has been shut due to flooding in low-lying areas as a result of Hurricane Sandy. There are no immediate plans to restart the plant.

The storm pushed more than 2ft of floodwater into the plant, which was closed on Monday as a precaution.

The plant has also lost external power.

After power outages were confirmed around the Linden, New Jersey, hub near the key New York harbour trading area, PSE&G said it has now "re-energised" three of six flooded switchyards, which can now power the area.

Imperial Oil’s 121,000 barrel per day refinery in Sarnia, Ontario, is expected to restart units later in the day, while Hess Corp’s 70,000 barrel per day refinery in Port Reading, New Jersey, which shut ahead of Sandy, has set no timeframe for restarting.

The northern Line 3 segment of the Colonial Pipeline still remains idle; however, no operational damage occurred. the pipeline supplies 15% of the East Coast’s 5.2 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel and fuel demand.

The company has urged customers to divert fuel shipments bound for the New Jersey area to southern markets.

NuStar Energy said its Linden terminal suffered significant water damage, while Buckeye Partners said many of its New York, New Jersey and Connecticut facilities were also without power.

Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ 330,000 barrel per day refinery at Point Breeze is restoring operations to half of the plant.

Genscape said its infrared cameras detected the restart of key crude and vacuum distillation units, while Delta Air Lines subsidiary Monroe Energy’s 185,000 barrel per day plant in Trainer, Pennsylvania, operated through the storm.

PBF Energy was ramping up its Delaware City refinery and 180,000 barrel per day Paulsboro plant after minimal run-cuts, reports Reuters.

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Image: Phillips 66’s 238,000 barrel per day plant at Bayway in New Jersey, US Photo: Phillips 66.