据油价网12月26日报道，了解美国炼油厂运营情况的消息人士告诉路透社，由于严重的冬季风暴艾略特，位于得克萨斯州日产31.25万桶的Deek Park炼油厂上周晚些时候被关闭，该设施的大多数装置在周日晚些时候仍然关闭。

这场严重的风暴在圣诞节周末假期前席卷了加拿大和美国，带来了冰封严寒。一些地区的电力供应中断，成千上万的航班被取消，圣诞旅行计划被打乱。就在圣诞假期周末之前，近2.5亿美国和加拿大居民以种种方式受到风暴的影响，至少有19人死亡与冰封与严寒有关。

美国海湾沿岸的所有州都发出了冰封警报，而美国的大部分炼油能力都在海湾沿岸。

据路透社估计，截至12月23日（星期五），美国海湾地区多达150万桶/日的炼油能力因冰封而被关闭。

由Motiva、马拉松石油公司和道达尔能源在休斯敦以外经营的炼油厂在上周末被关闭。由埃克森美孚、瓦莱罗能源公司和利安德巴塞尔公司在得克萨斯州经营的其他炼油厂的运营也因冬季风暴而中断。据路透社报道，炼油厂停工的时间预计不会很长。

上周晚些时候，随着风暴的临近，燃料价格上涨，美国汽油价格暂时停止了过去几周的下跌。

尽管如此，根据能源应用软件GasBuddy的数据，美国汽油平均价格在圣诞节期间出人意料地下降。

“在几天前上涨之后，美国市场汽油平均价格出人意料地下降到每加仑3.048美元，预计全国平均水平仍有机会达到3美元/加仑以下。”GasBuddy的石油分析主管Patrick De Haan周日在推特上说。

曹海斌 编译自 油价网

Winter Storm Shuts Texas Oil Refineries

The 312,500-barrels-per day (bpd) Deek Park refinery in Texas, operated by Pemex, was idled late last week due to the severe Winter Storm Elliott and most units at the facility remained shut late on Sunday, sources with knowledge of the refinery’s operations told Reuters.

The severe storm swept through Canada and the United States just ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend, bringing freezing temperatures, snow, and icy conditions. Power supply was interrupted in some areas, thousands of flights were canceled and Christmas travel plans were disrupted. Just ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend, almost 250 million U.S. and Canadian residents were affected by the storm in one way or another, and at least 19 deaths were connected to the icy blast and the severe winter conditions.  

Hard-freeze warnings have been issued for all the states along the U.S. Gulf Coast, where most of the U.S. refining capacity is located.  

As of Friday, December 23, as much as 1.5 million bpd of the Gulf Coast’s refining capacity was shut down due to the freezing temperatures, per Reuters estimates.

Refineries run by Motiva Enterprises, Marathon Petroleum, and TotalEnergies outside Houston were shut late last week. Operations at other refineries in Texas, run by ExxonMobil, Valero Energy, and Lyondellbasell, were also disrupted by the severe winter storm. Refinery outages were not expected to be prolonged, according to Reuters.

Fuel prices rose late last week as the storm was approaching, with U.S. gasoline prices stopping – temporarily – their decline from the past weeks.

Still, the average U.S. gasoline price surprisingly fell on Christmas Day, according to fuel savings app GasBuddy.

“After rising a few days ago, the national average is surprisingly down to $3.048 per gallon! It appears there is still a chance of a sub-$3/gal national average!” Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, tweeted on Sunday.