Gulf Coast Refineries Rush to Shutter Plants As Laura Nears
- One third, nearly 3m bpd, of region’s refining capacity shut
- 84% of Gulf of Mexico oil production shut ahead of storms
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Oil and chemical facilities located along the Texas and Louisiana coasts are racing to shutter plants as Hurricane Laura settles on a course to rip through the nation’s energy corridor this week.
Some of the largest U.S. refineries are shutting in advance of Laura, affecting nearly 3 million barrels a day of capacity along the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to a Bloomberg calculation. That’s about one third of Gulf Coast refining capacity, according to figures from Lipow Oil Associates. More than 84% of oil production and nearly 61% of natural gas production has been taken offline, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.