Texas gasoline supply drops amid Borger work: Update

Adds latest filing.

Phillips 66 acknowledged gasoline and diesel supply shortages in the Texas Panhandle as unidentified work continued at its 147,000 b/d refinery in Borger, Texas.

The US independent refiner said today it was working to supply Amarillo and Lubbock, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, markets with supplies from other Phillips 66 refineries or suppliers.

The company would not comment on whether the ongoing work was unplanned. Phillips 66 previously disclosed turnaround maintenance on fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and sulfur-reducing units, among other equipment, at the refinery beginning in mid-February. That work was planned to wrap up last week, according to filings to environmental regulators. Phillips 66 reported unit start ups beginning 9 April.

Phillips 66 notified state environmental regulators of trouble with a sulfur recovery unit that increased emissions beginning yesterday. Increased emissions associated with the sulfur recovery unit would continue to 26 April, according to the filing.

The refinery runs a primarily medium, sour crude slate, but maintenance work has helped to depress West Texas Intermediate Midland prices relative to WTI Cushing. The benchmark fell to a $5.95/bl discount in early April — its deepest since October 2014.

Reduced demand for West Texas Sour amid that work has added to booming Permian production of light, sweet crude competing for limited pipeline and storage space.