BP Toledo refinery shuts down after fire: Update 3

Updates closing prices.

US gasoline and diesel prices rose today following a deadly fire Tuesday night at BP's 160,000 b/d refinery in Toledo, Ohio, which shut operations at the site.

Gasoline blendstock CBOB at the Buckeye Complex in Hammond, Indiana, widened its premium to Nymex RBOB futures by 22.5¢/USG to close at 32.25¢/USG today, notching the widest such spread since November 2017. Ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) prices traded at flat to Nymex ULSD futures just one session after fetching a 23¢/USG discount.

Two workers at the plant were killed in the fire, which was extinguished around 10:15pm ET on 20 September. The company said the refinery was safely shut down and would remain offline at least through today.

BP did not comment on how the fire started or a timeframe to restart operations.

US midcontinent gasoline inventories rose by 2.8pc to 43.7mn bl last week, but this lagged year-earlier levels by 6.8pc, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data released today. Midcontinent diesel stocks increased by 2.2pc to 28.1mn bl, a 9.9pc drop from the same week in 2021.

BP agreed last month to sell its 50pc stake in the refinery to joint venture partner Cenovus Energy for $300mn, with the deal expected to close later this year.

By Jason Metko and Jared Ainsworth