Colonial Pipeline halts fuel deliveries; three refineries shut due to Hurricane Ida

[DENVER] Colonial Pipeline, the largest petroleum products pipeline in the United States, said on Sunday it would temporarily halt fuel deliveries from Houston to Greensboro, North Carolina, due to Hurricane Ida.

The pipeline operator, which carries nearly half the fuel consumed along the US East Coast, said supplies would continue to be available at its terminals throughout the South-east. It expects to resume full service when it is safe to do so, it said in a note to shippers.

Colonial suffered a crippling cyberattack earlier this year that disrupted fuel supplies for almost a week, leaving thousands of petrol stations in the South-east without fuel and prompting airlines to reroute planes to get jet fuel.

Hurricane Ida prompted US Gulf of Mexico oil operators to shut in some 95 per cent of crude production on Sunday, while refineries that produce petrol and jet fuel along the Gulf Coast are shutting plants or reducing production due to the storm.

Phillips 66 shut its Alliance plant in Belle Chasse, Valero Energy temporarily halted operations at its Meraux and St Charles refineries, and Exxon Mobil reduced production at its Baton Rouge refinery ahead of the storm's landfall. All the facilities are in Louisiana.

REUTERS