“They’re not going to have all systems go for a couple of quarters,” he said.
Kloza said he would not be surprised to see average prices rise to $4 a gallon in much of the country this spring and summer as the economy continues to recover and demand for gas increases. The limited supply of gasoline due to the loss of refining capacity in the United States and elsewhere will only help lift prices higher.
“Fortunately we don’t need the gasoline [from Baytown] for the next six weeks,” Kloza said.
But by spring, when demand starts to increase again, the lost output from Baytown will likely be felt at pumps nationwide.
There have already been a couple of refinery closures in 2021 due to fires and economic losses that reduced the nation’s refining capacity by more than 500,000 barrels a day. Baytown being offline could more than double that.
Baytown has an average daily capacity to refine 561,000 barrels of oil, according to the US Energy Information Administration. That makes it the fourth-largest US refinery, only 8% smaller than the largest, the Motiva Enterprises facility in Port Arthur, Texas, owned by Saudi Aramco. Baytown is one of only five US refineries with a capacity of more than 500,000 barrels a day.
Source : CNN