Colonial Pipeline says it plans to shut down a key line that supplies gasoline to the South due to storm-related refinery shutdowns and Harvey’s effect on its facilities west of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The Georgia-based company said in a statement that it expects to shut off the line Thursday. The company had already closed down another line that transports primarily diesel and aviation fuels.
The pipeline provides nearly 40 per cent of the South’s gasoline. It connects the refineries of the Gulf Coast to the populous East Coast, transporting more than three million barrels of fuel every day.
Colonial became the second major fuel pipeline operator with origins in the Gulf Coast to suspend operations because of the storm that brought devastating flooding to the region. The ExplorerPipeline, which has a capacity of 660,000 barrels a day, said on Wednesday it had shut its main fuel line from Houston to Tulsa, Oklahoma, as supplies dwindled.
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At least two East Coast refineries have already run out of gasoline for immediate delivery as they scrambled to fill barges to markets typically supplied by the Gulf Coast, two refinery sources said. Others were seen operating at higher rates in order to boost profitability by meeting supply shortages.
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“I’ve never seen a situation this bad,” said one East Coast market source.
“Imports can’t make up for this. … This is going to be the worst thing the U.S. has seen in decades from an energy standpoint.”
Kinder Morgan Inc’s 700,000-bpd Plantation Pipeline system, which originates in Louisiana and ends in the Washington, D.C., area, remained fully operational, the company’s spokeswoman, Melissa Ruiz, said in an email.
Colonial said earlier it expected outages at its Houston and Hebert area fuel supply points in Texas would likely continue through the weekend as a result of Harvey.
The company didn’t say how long it expects the closure to last, saying it will know more when workers can evaluate its facilities.
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With files from Reuters
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