Operations in production units at Pemex’s Deer Park refinery in Texas were reported to have been halted as the strong winter storm Elliott hit the 312,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Houston-area refinery.
Sources with knowledge of the matter stated that the units were shut due to the extreme cold weather from the snowstorm late last week. The refinery faced a lack of steam supply due to the 47-degree drop in temperatures between Thursday and Friday.
Elliott hit Canada and the US ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend with freezing temperatures, snow, and icy conditions that resulted in power outages in certain areas and disruptions in flights and holiday travel plans.
Hard-freeze warnings have also been issued for states along the US Gulf Coast, where a large part of the country’s refining capacity is situated.
On Friday, it was estimated that about 1.5 million bpd of the Gulf Coast’s refining capacity was paused due to the winter storm.
Furthermore, operations in refineries run by companies, including Motiva Enterprises LLC, Marathon Petroleum Corp., and TotalEnergies SE outside Houston, were shut down in the previous week.
Other Texas-based refineries run by ExxonMobil Corp., Valero Energy Corp., and LyondellBasell Industries NV have also suspended operations.
Average US Gasoline Prices Falter
Fuel prices surged last week ahead of the storm, with US gasoline prices temporarily climbing from a fall in the past weeks.
However, a US-based fuel-savings app said the average gas price in the country unexpectedly declined on Sunday.
Head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan said the national average slipped $3.05 per gallon and seems there is a potential for a sub-$3 per gallon national average.
Estimates from an auto club also showed gasoline prices were $0.16 lower than in December 2021 and the weakest since June last year.
Gasoline prices had tumbled gradually since mid-November, when a gallon costs $3.80, and have fallen significantly since early June, when prices reached a record $5.02 per gallon amid higher inflation and uncertainty in the global energy market caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
