Louisiana refineries not hit by floods, markets expect trouble
(Reuters) Operations at several major refineries in southern Louisiana have not been affected by deadly floods that have claimed five lives and forced emergency crews to rescue more than 20,000 people, the companies and sources familiar with operations said on Monday.
Major oil markets were roiling on Monday by potential disruptions due to the deluge and a fire last week at Motiva Enterprises Convent, Louisiana refinery.
The ICE gas oil crack spread jumped 7% on Monday due to expectations of reduced production or transport interruptions from Louisiana refineries.
Operations at Motiva Enterprises 235 Mbpd Convent, Louisiana refinery have been unaffected by the flooding, said sources familiar with plant operations Monday.
Output from the refinery has been reduced by the outage of the 45 Mbpd heavy oil hydrocracker, called the H-Oil unit, in a fire Thursday. Sources have told Reuters an initial damage assessment projects the unit will be shut one to four months for repairs.
Exxon Mobil Corp's 502 Mbpd Baton Rouge refinery had seen no impact to operations as of midday Monday, a company spokeswoman said.
Motiva's 237 Mbpd Norco, Louisiana refinery has not cut production due to heavy rain over the weekend, sources familiar with plant operations said Monday.
Citgo Petroleum Corp's 427 Mbpd Lake Charles, Louisiana refinery has also seen no impact to its operations, a company official said.
Alon USA Energy's 80,000 bpd Krotz Springs, Louisiana refinery was operating at planned rates on Monday, a spokesman said.
President Barack Obama issued a disaster declaration on Sunday for flood-ravaged Louisiana.
Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell
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