For the uninitiated, unplanned maintenance means it's broken. Anybody care to comment on this or have additional info?

Refinery Update: Exxon Mobil Shuts Cat Cracker, Traders Say

Princeton, New Jersey, Feb. 15 (Bloomberg Energy)-- The following refinery is reported to be undergoing unplanned maintenance. The information has not been confirmed by the company.

Company: Exxon Mobil Corp. Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Unit Type: Catalytic Cracker Event: Unplanned Maintenance Duration: Not Available Source: Traders Company Confirmation: No

Link:

http://quote.bloomberg.com/news2.cgi?T=energy_refout.ht&s=76715268

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 15, 2000

Answers

OPIS Alert on Baton Rouge facility:

2000-02-15 10:57:26 EST

***EXXON GLITCH SENDS SPOT GULF GASOLINE SOARING

As if gasoline prices needed more incentive to go higher, OPIS has learned that a downed FCC unit at Exxon's 475,000 b/d Baton Rouge refinery has the prompt Gulf Coast unleaded going wild.

Gulf spot traders tell OPIS that prompt gasoline is being bid at 0.25cts over the April print with few sellers willing to part with their bbl.

Yesterday, Gulf gas was at a 1.75ct discount but the news that Exxon had to take down one of its two 102,000 b/d fluid catalytic crackers has sent the prompt up over 2cts/gal on an absolute basis. However, traders warn that spot differentials to the NYMEX could move even higher once sellers post their offers.

Early estimates are that the FCC unit could be back to normal rates by the weekend.

- Mark Mahoney - mmahoney@opisnet.com

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), February 15, 2000.

This is almost a half million barrel per day refinery, if this is not back in production soon I would imagine the results could be quite serious for oil prices and availability.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), February 15, 2000.

If I were a polly (which I'm not) I would have to start thinking about surrender at this point. Break out the white flag and parley for terms.

This is my polly analogy. A polly is walking in the park, they step in something squishy and they smell something awful AND they still deny they stepped in a pile of Y2K because we on the doomer side HAVE TO PROVE to them that they stepped in something, why is that? WHY?

Screw the pollies, if they want to blame gas/diesel/heating oil/propane prices on cold weather that's their problem.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), February 15, 2000.

Guy, I agree with you heartily.

But the new Polly line will be that "In order to spread the pain around, the government ordered the greedy oil companies to raise the prices on their home turf."

What's bad is that if the truckers think that the prices in the northeast have been hurting them, they are going to lose their haven away from the northeast's prices when Gulf Coast-originated oil prices start rising.

The big question is, "Which states do depend on Gulf Coast oil"?

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), February 15, 2000.