Texas Cold Snap Takes America's Largest Refineries Offline

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday February 16, 2021

A cold snap in Texas is forcing some of the largest refineries in the US offline.

More than 3 million barrels per day of refining capacity has been shut down after record-low temperatures came to Texas over the weekend, news agency Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing data from consultancy Energy Aspects.

The idled plants include Saudi Aramco's Motiva Enterprises facility at Port Arthur, Marathon Petroleum's Galveston Bay plant and ExxonMobil's Baytown refinery, Bloomberg said.

The closures may bring tightness to the US Gulf bunker market in the coming days. The price spread between VLSFO at Houston and Singapore narrowed by $1.50/mt to $51.50/mt from Friday to Monday, according to Ship & Bunker pricing.