THE EDITOR, Sir:
Another hurricane hits Jamaica, another near-islandwide blackout. I completely understand the lights going out with all the wind and rain. But, for the love of me, I can’t understand why so much of the island should go dark after a
Pump prices headed higher as Tropical Storm Isaac forced several major refineries along the Gulf Coast to halt production in preparation for high winds and heavy rains. Fear of reduced gasolene supplies sent wholesale prices up US7.7 cents, or 2.4 per cent to US$3.155 per gallon Monday. The average retail price for a gallon of gasolene in the United States (US) rose to US$3.75 on Monday, and it could pass US$3.80 by Labour Day weekend, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. Oil fell Monday because Gulf Coast refineries won’t be using as much in the next few days and damage to key oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico seemed less likely as the storm’s winds aren’t expected to be as strong as some had feared. Refineries should also escape damage. But refinery owners often shut down operations in advance of a storm. These facilities consume enormous amounts of electric power and generate steam to cook crude oil into gasolene, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil. If a refinery loses power suddenly, operators can’t properly clear the partially cooked oil out of pipes, and restarting the refinery can take several days or even weeks. If refineries instead conduct what is known as an orderly shutdown, they can restart as soon as the power supply is assured again. The Gulf refineries will likely stay off line for about three days. SEVERAL REFINERIES CLOSED About one million barrels per day of refining capacity is expected to be shut down, roughly half of the refining capacity in the potential path of the storm. The US consumes about 19 million barrels of oil products per day. Marathon Petroleum Corp said it is shutting down its Garyville, Louisiana, refinery. The refinery has the capacity to refine 490,000 barrels of oil per day, making it the third largest refinery in the US. Phillips 66 is closing its 247,000 barrel per day refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Chevron Corp is keeping its 330,000-barrel per day Pascagoula, Mississippi, plant running as of Monday afternoon. The National Hurricane Centre now predicts Isaac will grow to a