Phillips 66 evaluating post-Delta damage at Lake Charles refinery

Phillips 66 is conducting initial damage assessments at its 249,000-b/d Lake Charles refining complex in Westlake, La., following Hurricane Delta’s Oct. 9 landfall along the US Gulf Coast in southwestern Louisiana.

With initial damage assessments now taking place, preparations are under way to bring in appropriate personnel to ensure a safe and orderly restart of operations at the site once it becomes possible, Phillips 66 said on Oct. 10.

The operator confirmed on Oct. 8 that it undertook a safe and controlled shutdown of process units at the Lake Charles complex on Oct. 7, but was planning to keep utilities at the site online and the refinery staffed with a small ride-out crew during the weather event.

While Phillips 66 in mid-September planned to resume operations at the Lake Charles refining complex by early October pending restoration of reliable electricity following Hurricane Laura’s Aug. 27 landfall as a Category 4 storm in the region, the operator said on Oct. 7 that, while electricity had been recently restored, it would temporarily delay the refinery’s complete restart until Hurricane Delta had passed (OGJ Online, Sept. 23, 2020).

Phillips 66 also separately confirmed planned maintenance activities started in mid-September remain under way at its 255,000-b/d Alliance refinery on the Mississippi River in Belle Chasse, Plaquemines Parish, La., about 25 miles southeast of New Orleans, following the refinery’s safe and orderly shutdown ahead of Hurricane Sally, which made landfall near Gulf Shores, Ala., on Sept. 16 as a Category 2 storm (OGJ Online, Sept. 16, 2020).

Hurricane Delta made landfall in near Creole, La., at 6:00 p.m. CST on Oct. 9 as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and a minimum central pressure of 970 mb, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center.