NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--As Hurricane Rita heads for the Texas coast, refineries and pipelines in the region have taken initial steps to prepare for the possibility of impact on facilities.
The most recent track update from the U.S. National Hurricane Center has the storm still southwest of Houston and northwest of Corpus Christi. The center's track now shows the storm making landfall early Saturday morning east of Port Lavaca, Texas, though NHC forecaster Lixion Avila says forecast errors this far out can still be large.
The NHC's probability cone takes in the entire Texas coastline and the western half of Louisiana.
Companies contacted by Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday were all closely monitoring the track and intensity of the storm and taking initial steps to protect lives and property in the event of a direct hit on their facilities.
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) is in the pre-storm preparation phase at its Texas City, Houston and Corpus Christi refineries, according to company statements.
Spokeswoman Mary Rose Brown gave a detailed explanation of the scope of the company's Hurricane Preparedness plans in a statement Monday.
"The plan takes into consideration the pace and size of a storm and the probability that it will/will not make landfall in the proximity of the refinery," she wrote.
Altogether, the Gulf Coast of Texas and western Louisiana includes 19 refineries whose processing capability totals 4.5 million barrels a day, or 26% of the U.S. total. Three of the five largest U.S. refineries are in the region.
Refined products pipeline Colonial Pipeline (CPL.YYY) is also monitoring the hurricane and preparing for impacts from severe weather, spokesman Steve Baker said. The company is encouraged about its chances for minimal damage from the storm because of the pipelines' underground location in Texas, he said.
Flooding poses some risk that equipment instrumentation could be damaged, Baker said, but power issues in the Houston area are seen as easier to resolve than they had been in the remote, rural Mississippi areas hit during Hurricane Katrina.
Colonial delivers a daily average of 100 million gallons a day of gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, aviation and military fuels through a system of pipelines from refineries on the Gulf Coast to the New York Harbor market.
The current status of refineries and pipelines contacted so far is outlined below:
-Marathon Oil (MRO) monitoring storm but haven't made decision to go to next phase in hurricane preparedness plan. Facilities affected include Texas City refinery (72,000 b/d).
-Citgo Petroleum (PVZ.YY) monitoring storm and making plans to relocate essential corporate operations, including the trading group, should Rita again turn toward Houston. Refineries are running full out. Facilities affected include corporate headquarters in Houston, Corpus Christi refinery (156,000 b/d) and Lake Charles, La. refinery (324,300 b/d).
-BP PLC (BP) is monitoring the storm and is securing the facility in the first of four phases of hurricane readiness. Tuesday night it will consider Phase 2, which entails a brief, pre-storm home leave for the approximately fifty-person skeleton crew who would run the plant in the case of a shutdown. BP's Texas City refinery, at 437,000 b/d, is the nation's third largest.
-Colonial Pipeline is monitoring the storm, ready to put Hurricane Preparedness Plan into effect if they need to. Note that pipelines are underground, and while flooding poses a risk to instrumentation it's less of a concern than in Mississippi. (Delivers 100 million gal/day refined products)
-Valero Energy Corp. has begun prestorm preparation at its Texas City and Houston refineries. Steps include testing emergency systems, developing operating plans, and securing supplies like generators and pumps. Affected refineries include Texas City (210,000 b/d), Houston (90,000 b/d) and Corpus Christi (142,000 b/d).
-Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN), Petroleos de Mexico (PEM.YY) joint venture Deer Park Refining LLC monitoring storm, activating its emergency operations center as a start to contingency planning process. Hurricane readiness and response plan has 6 phases that include checkpoints such as utilities, environment and unit shutdowns. Potential impact to incoming receipts of crude oil and petrochemical feedstocks, and outgoing product distribution also assessed. Houston-area refinery processes 340,000 b/d crude oil.
-Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) is in beginning stage of hurricane preparedness. Monitoring storm, stocking up on necessary supplies, removing or tying down loose items that pose danger to people or property, etc. Refineries affected include Baytown (557,000 b/d) and Beaumont (348,500 b/d).
REFINERIES POTENTIALLY IN RITA'S PATH
COMPANY LOCATION CRUDE OIL
THROUGHPUT
CAPACITY (B/D)
HOUSTON AREA 2,292,000 (Total)
ExxonMobil Baytown, Tex. 557,000
BP Texas City 437,000
Deer Park Deer Park, Tex. 340,000
Lyondell Citgo Houston 270,000
ConocoPhillps Old Ocean, Tex. 216,000
Valero Texas City 210,000
Astra Pasadena, Tex. 100,000
Valero Houston 90,000
Marathon Texas City 72,000
CORPUS CHRISTI 586,000 (Total)
Flint Hills Corpus Christi 288,000
Citgo Corpus Christi, 156,000
Valero Corpus Christi 142,000
FAR EASTERN TEXAS 1,013,500 (Total)
ExxonMobil Beaumont, Tex. 348,500
Valero Port Arthur, Tex. 250,000
Motiva Port Arthur, Tex. 235,000
Total Port Arthur, Tex. 180,000
WESTERN LOUISIANA 593,300 (Total)
Citgo Lake Charles, La. 324,300
ConocoPhillips Westlake, La. 239,000
Calcasieu Lake Charles, La. 30,000
TOTAL 4,484,800
US TOTAL 17,133,000
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