Storm Harvey paralyzes fifth of U.S. fuel output

At least 3.6 million barrels per day of refining capacity are offline in Texas and Louisiana, or nearly 20 percent of total U.S. capacity, based on company reports and Reuters estimates. Restarting plants even under the best conditions can take a week or more.

As a result of the outages, major pipelines carrying gasoline, diesel and jet fuel started to adjust deliveries or close lines outright because of a lack of supply. U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 surged 4 percent to settle at their highest in more than two years.

The U.S. Gulf Coast is home to nearly half of domestic refining capacity, with some 5.6 million bpd of capacity in Texas and 3.3 million bpd in Louisiana.

More refinery closures were expected, as parts of Texas have received more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of rain. Fuel prices were expected to keep rising as refining capacity remains down and pipelines run short. Explorer Pipeline, which runs from Texas to Chicago, will shut two lines early on Wednesday. – Nampa/Reuters