Power outage hits Valero Port Arthur refinery after storm Edouard, sources say
VLO•Other East Texas refineries continued normal operation
Valero's Port Arthur refinery accounts for 2% of national refining capacity, equal to most of the U.S. refining capacity not being utilized by refineries running at 97.4% of the 18.03 million bpd of national capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said the Trump administration will work with U.S. refiners to increase production to reduce gasoline prices, which are averaging $4 a gallon as the administration attempts to hold to thin majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate.
Three other refineries in East Texas continued normal operation as Edouard came ashore and moved across Port Arthur and Beaumont.
Motiva's 656,400 bpd Port Arthur refinery continued normal operation through the tropical storm on Tuesday. The refinery, owned by Saudi Aramco subsidiary Motiva Enterprises 2222.SE, is the largest in the United States.
Exxon's largest refinery, the 612,000 bpd refinery in Beaumont, Texas, continued operating while Edouard was ashore. TotalEnergies' TTEF.PA 238,000 bpd Port Arthur refinery also continued operating.
Exxon and TotalEnergies sent contractors home, but kept employees on their jobs on Tuesday.
Valero Port Arthur refinery hit by partial power outage
Valero Energy Corp's VLO.N 385,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery was hit by a partial power outage on Tuesday night following the passage of Tropical Storm Edouard, people familiar with plant operations said.
The refinery's smaller AVU-147 crude distillation unit was shut down by the power outage on the south side of the plant, and the larger AVU-146 CDU was operating at the minimum crude processing level, the sources said.
CDUs begin the fuel-making process by breaking down crude oil into feedstocks for the units that make gasoline, diesel, lubricating oils, and feedstocks used to make plastics.
