Hurricane Week: US triggers SPR release, tankers prevented from offloading

摘要

US Department of Energy has announced that it will release 1MM bbl of crude (400K bbl of sweet and 600K bbl of sour) from the US strategic petroleum reserve to Phillips 66' 239K-b/d Lake Charles, Louisiana refinery. The release was described as a loan, meaning that the company will have to provide crude to replenish the reserve at a later date. Phillips 66 said it negotiated the loan to ensure security of supply for the refinery. Operations at the plant were not interrupted by Hurricane Harvey, Phillips 66 said, although sources noted that Citgo Petroleum had been forced to reduce throughputs at its nearby 425K-b/d refinery, also in Lake Charles, as the storm disrupted crude deliveries.