ExxonMobil shuts parts of two Louisiana crude pipelines amid flooding concerns
By Ben DuBose
Online Editor
ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. has shut down parts of two pipelines in Louisiana amid increased flooding concerns along the Mississippi River, the company said on Friday.
Two 12-inch crude line segments of the North Line system north of Baton Rouge and one 16-inch segment of the Southwest Line system near Anchorage were shut, company officials said.
ExxonMobil said it was purging oil from the lines and backfilling with fresh water in areas that may be affected by high waters.
The pipelines will remain down until water levels subside and ExxonMobil can inspect the integrity of the lines, the company said.
ExxonMobil said its 504,500 bpd refinery in Baton Rouge – the second-largest in the US – was still operating despite rising Mississippi River waters heading downstream.
The ExxonMobil Baton Rouge refinery is one of several serviced by the affected pipelines, including Alon’s 80,000 bpd Krotz Springs refinery, Calumet’s 57,000 bpd Shreveport refinery, Lion Oil’s 75,000 bpd refinery in El Dorado, Arkansas, and Sunoco’s Mid-Valley pipeline system in Longview, Texas.
The flooding is a result of the convergence of the swollen Mississippi and Ohio rivers in Cairo, Illinois. Crests in upstream areas such as Memphis, Tennessee, were near all-time records this week, and waters are already above flood stage for much of Louisiana.
There are 10 refineries located along the Mississippi River with a combined capacity of about 2.4mn bpd, representing nearly 14% of US refining capacity. Many are complexes with adjacent petrochemical plants.
Most facilities are located near the southern end of the river, particularly in the Baton Rouge-New Orleans region. Crests there are expected to become progressively higher throughout next week before finally peaking around May 23.
After that, it could still take two weeks for the river to fall below flood stage, reports said.
US officials have already opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway in Louisiana, and Gov. Bobby Jindal said that all indications from the US Army Corps of Engineers are that the Morganza Spillway will be opened as soon as Saturday.
That spillway has only been opened once before, in 1973.
If that happens, Alon’s Krotz Springs refinery will likely have to be shut, Jindal said earlier in the week. Alon said on Friday that it was building a levee around the complex in hopes of keeping it operational.
The ExxonMobil pipeline closures came in the wake of a stern warning from US chemical shipper and inland barge firm Kirby, who said on Thursday that high water and flooding issues were likely to have a greater-than-anticipated impact.
Comments