Phillips 66 Alliance refinery assessment continues

Phillips 66 remains mired in a post-storm assessment phase at its 250,000 Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, more than two weeks on from Hurricane Ida's landfall in the US Gulf coast.

Assessments conducted thus far have revealed no loss of containment from storage tanks or refinery equipment, aside from flooding of the refinery's segregated stormwater and oily water sewer systems, the company told Argus today.

Efforts to remove water from the refinery are still ongoing, an indication of the challenges of getting power to the facility. Phillips 66 first disclosed on 30 August that there was "some water" in the refinery after Ida's landfall the day prior.

The company did not offer a timeline for restarting the facility, and said a potential restart will be dependent on "assessment impacts, necessary repairs and access to electricity and other utilities." Regional utility Entergy reported over 1,000 people still without power today in the surrounding area of Plaquemines Parish where the refinery is located.

The condition of the Alliance refinery has drawn added scrutiny from market observers after the company declared in late August that it planned to sell the refinery in a push toward lower-carbon business lines.

Three other refineries in Louisiana remain out of commission today, including Shell's 250,000 b/d Norco facility and Valero's two facilities along the Mississippi River, the 215,000 b/d St Charles refinery and 135,000 b/d Meraux refinery.

By Dylan Chase