Damaged Pa. oil refinery to shut down
Motorists to see gas prices increase in mid-Atlantic region
The largest oil refinery on the East Coast said Wednesday that it will close after a devastating fire last week that set off explosions and damaged equipment, and analysts said consumers could see gas prices rise as summer travel hits full swing.
Philadelphia Energy Solutions said in a statement that it will shut the plant down Monday and lay off about 1,020 workers there in the next two weeks after that. The fire significantly damaged equipment and systems at a complex that was already struggling financially, the company said.
Gasoline futures prices spiked Tuesday night after the first news of the refinery’s possible closure, and prices remained high Wednesday, according to the markets research company FactSet.
Motorists in the mid-Atlantic region will likely see modest price increases as more summer travelers hit the road, AAA spokeswoman Jana Tidwell said in a statement.
The refinery has been an important source fueling transportation in the region, far from Gulf Coast refineries, and “at least temporarily, it’s going to require some logistical shifting that could come at a cost,” said Kevin Book, managing director at Clearview Energy Partners.
But while the amount of gasoline that will be lost from the refinery is sizable, it can easily be made up by imports from Europe or elsewhere, said Jonathan Aronson, a research analyst at Cornerstone Macro.
Consumers are more likely to feel gasoline prices increase due to the price of crude oil, which has been rallying in recent days, he said.
Bench mark crude oil rose $1.55 to settle at $59.38 a barrel Wednesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose $1.44 to close at $66.49 a barrel.
Repairing the facility could be expensive, and the cost was probably the final nail in the coffin for an already financially troubled facility, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said.
“It’s a sad day,” Kenney said, “and I’m really worried about the safety of the facility, the safety of the environment and the workers.”
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said his office was in touch with company officials and that he hopes that an alternative will emerge in coming weeks to prevent the refinery from closing permanently.
The company has recently struggled financially, showing a declining cash balance in the six months through March while its long-term debt grew, according to reports the company filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
The 150-year-old oil refining complex processes 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily, according to PES. The refinery turns the crude into gasoline, jet fuel, propane, home heating oil and other products.
It started as a bulk petroleum storage facility in 1866 and began refinery operations in 1870.
The company emerged from federal bankruptcy court last year after restructuring its debt, leaving its majority ownership in the hands of investment banking firms Credit Suisse Asset Management and Bardin Hill.
Fire at the complex broke out early Friday, and it set off three explosions felt miles away as the blaze plowed through a tangle of pipes carrying fuel across the complex, the company has said. It happened at the Girard Point refinery, one of two at the PES complex in south Philadelphia.
The fire erupted in a tank containing a mixture of butane and propane, a fire official said.
Investigators haven’t been able to go to some areas at the complex because they haven’t yet been assessed by a structural engineer, the city fire commissioner’s office said Wednesday.
United Steelworkers, which represents the refinery workers, is investigating whether the company had insurance coverage for a destroyed alkylation unit, Ryan O’Callaghan, the president of Local 10-1, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
It would push the company to rebuild the unit, he said.
“It appears they’re cashing the check and heading for the doors,” he said.