Wed 3 Sep 2008, 09:32 GMT

Shell's Convent refinery needs repairs


Restart of the Louisiana facility set to be delayed until repairs are carried out.



Shell Oil said on Tuesday that its Motiva refinery in Convent, Louisiana will need power and repairs before it can be restarted in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, Reuters reports.

The 255,000 barrels-per-day facility, located approximately 30 miles southeast of Baton Rouge, is used as a product source for the Gulf Coast marine fuels market, including New Orleans.

The refinery reportedly suffered some damage during the hurricane. Shell said the restart of the plant will depend on the repairs that will need to be carried out and the availability of dependent resources. The company will also carry out further assessments to identify any other repair issues before production is restarted.

Meanwhile, at Shell's 242,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Norco, Louisiana, the company has said that it could commence the restart of some processing units over the next couple of days. The facility is also a primary local source of material for the New Orleans bunker market.

Shell also said it expected to increase production rates at its 285,000 barrels-per-day joint venture refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. The plant has been running at minimum rates over the last few days.

In the state of Louisiana, the area most affected by Hurricane Gustav, Shell Marine Products (US) Company is a bunker supplier in the port of New Orleans and offers marine lubricants to customers calling at Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Burnside, Fourchon, Lake Charles and Louisiana (LOOP).


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