Oil terminals, refineries, pipelines and nuclear power plants from the Bahamas to Rhode Island braced for Hurricane Irene on Thursday.
The major Category 3 storm with winds of 115 mph roared through the Bahamas on a path expected to take it up the U.S. East Coast by the weekend.
Unlike a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, an East Coast storm does not threaten significant U.S. crude oil and natural gas production.
The Department of Energy calls the refining region PADD 1. It is the second smallest of the five U.S. refining regions, with most of its fuel being supplied by pipeline from the Gulf Coast or tanker ship from Europe. But there are six refineries and numerous storage and shipping terminals on or near the coast.
There also are six nuclear plants on or very near the East Coast, and operators were preparing them for a possible visit by Irene in the next few days.
REFINERIES
* PBF Energy said it was preparing for storm conditions at its 182,200 barrel-per-day (bpd) Delaware City, Delaware, refinery, and its 160,000 bpd Paulsboro, New Jersey, refinery.
* ConocoPhillips said it was monitoring the storm as a precaution for its 238,000 bpd Bayway refinery at Linden, New Jersey, and its 190,000 bpd refinery at Trainer, Pa.
* Sunoco Inc said its Marcus Hook, Pa, refinery, 194,000 bpd, and its Philadelphia refinery, 355,000 bpd, were "monitoring the storm closely and have begun taking steps."
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
* Progress Energy said it was preparing its Brunswick nuclear power plant on the coast at Southport, North Carolina. Two reactors, 900-plus megawatts (mw) each.
* Public Service Enterprise Group said it would shut down Salem and Hope Creek plants in New Jersey near Wilmington, Delaware, before hurricane winds arrive. Salem is a two-reactor, 2,300-mw facility. Hope Creek is a single-reactor, 1,061-mw plant.
* Entergy said its two-unit, 2,069-mw plant at Indian Point, 24 miles north of New York City, and its 688-mw plant at Plymouth, Mass, near Boston, were securing equipment, fueling backup generators and reviewing procedures.
SHIPPING
* The U.S. Coast Guard said decisions whether to limit or stop New York Harbor traffic depending on the storm's path, no restrictions yet.
OIL STORAGE, TRANSSHIPMENT TERMINALS
* Buckeye Partners said its 21.6-million-barrel storage facility in the Bahamas escaped damage as Irene passed, but monitoring conditions before restarting operations.
* Statoil also planned shutdown of its 6.75 million-barrel storage facility at South Riding Point on Grand Bahama Island.
* Sunoco Inc said it was "monitoring the storm closely" and "taking steps under our hurricane preparedness plan" to ready terminals at Newark, NJ, and areas under threat from Irene.
* Kinder Morgan said it was readying its major petroleum terminals at Carteret, N.J., 7.2 million barrels; Perth Amboy, N.J., 3.5 million barrels and Staten Isl, N.Y., 2,959,700.
* Magellan Midstream Partners said its terminals at New Haven, Conn., 4 million barrels, and Wilmington, Del., 2.8 million barrels, continued to operate as they prepared for the storm.
Enterprise Products said its Providence, Rhode Island, propane ship terminal was monitoring the storm and making preparations for a possible visit by Irene.
PIPELINES
* El Paso Corp said its Tennessee Gas Pipeline unit notified customers it anticipated limited flexibility to manage imbalances if Irene impacts areas it serves on the East Coast.
* Kinder Morgan said it was "fueling vehicles, generators, pumps and securing equipment" around all facilities, including Plantation products pipeline.
* Colonial Pipeline, a major petroleum products pipeline supplying the East from the Gulf Coast refining complex, said it was monitoring the storm.
* NiSource said it was preparing its Columbia gas transmission system for Irene and will take appropriate actions as a result of the storm threat.
LNG TERMINALS
* GDF Suez said its Everett, Massachusetts, liquefied natural gas import terminal has backup power and no ship arrivals scheduled during period Irene is a threat.
COAL TERMINALS
* Kinder Morgan said its Pier IX coal exporting terminal at Newport News, Va, will close for 24 hours on Saturday. Annual capacity 14 million short tons.
* Norfolk Southern said its Lamberts Point coal terminal at Norfolk, Va., was loading a final ship before shutting down on Friday to await passage of the storm.
RAIL LINES
* NS said it was preparing its rail service along the East Coast to weather the storm and will hold shipments away from seaports pending Irene's passage.
OTHER FACILITIES THAT COULD BE AFFECTED BY IRENE:
OIL REFINERIES
Capacity in Padd 1 totals 1.7 million bpd, most on or near coast.
Company Location Capacity (bpd)
Hess Corp Port Reading, NJ 70,000
MAJOR PIPELINES
Total products demand is 5.4 million bpd, most met by imports or pipelines. Total natural gas demand is
Company/Line Carries Capacity (bcf/d) Williams Transco Natural gas 9.0
Spectra Algonquin Natural gas 2.4
NUCLEAR PLANTS
Company Facility Location Capacity (MW)
Dominion Surry Newport News, Va 1,598
Exelon Oyster Creek Toms River, NJ 645
LNG TERMINALS
Dominion Cove Point terminal Lusby, Md
RAILROADS
Two main lines, Norfolk Southern and CSX, haul coal, petroleum products and other freight in the East.
COAL EXPORT TERMINALS (Chesapeake Bay)
Location Capacity (annual)
Maryland (Baltimore)
CONSOL Energy 12 million short tons
Chesapeake 4
Virginia (Hampton Roads)
DTA 20
OIL TERMINALS, STORAGE
Capacity in PADD 1 totals 61 million barrels of crude oil, petroleum products and other liquids. There are 34.3 million barrels of crude oil storage, 17.3 million barrels of petroleum products including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, and 12.3 million barrels of other liquids such as propane, butane, ethanol and gasoline blending components. Includes these sites:
Company Location Product Capacity (bbls)
Western Yorktown, Va petroleum n/a
Motiva Sewaren, N.J. petroleum n/a
First Reserve Woodbridge, N.J. petroleum n/a