July 31 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc is restarting its Rotterdam refinery after an external supply failure this morning cut power to Europe’s second-largest oil processing plant.

BP is resuming operations at the refinery and can’t estimate how long it will be before the 400,000 barrel-a-day capacity plant is back to normal, Jacoline Poldervaart, a BP spokeswoman in the Netherlands, said by phone. The power outage happened at 6:20 a.m. local time, when all process units were shut safely. The cause of the failure is being investigated.

Refineries the size of Rotterdam typically take a few days to restore operations at all units following a major power loss.

Gasoil futures for August delivery on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange rose as much as $9.50, or 1.7 percent, to $574.25 a ton. Those contracts are delivered in the oil- trading barge market around Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp.

The refinery produces a range of finished and intermediate products and has a storage capacity of 4.3 million cubic meters, according to London-based BP.

The company has been running the plant at a slower pace recently, reflecting lower demand for fuel during the recession.

Lower Processing Rate

“We have seen slight run cuts, particularly in Rotterdam, which is the least highly upgraded refinery,” Iain Conn, chief executive officer of BP’s refining and marketing business, told investors on a conference call on July 28.

The company also plans to shut a gasoline unit at the same refinery for maintenance at the end of September, for up to eight weeks, two people with knowledge of the plans said earlier this year. The unit to be shut will be a fluid catalytic cracker, with a capacity of 62,000 barrels a day, and an associated alkylation unit, the people said, declining to be named because the information is confidential. BP, Europe’s second-largest oil company, declined to comment on those plans.

There were no injuries during the power cut earlier today, Esther Versteeg, a spokeswoman for the regional emergency services unit, said by phone. The plant flared gases into the air to relieve pressure, she added.

For Related News and Information: Top oil stories: OTOP<GO> Refinery disruptions: NI REFOUT <GO> European fuel prices: EUPD <GO>

Last Updated: July 31, 2009 12:54 EDT