Friday, May 07, 2010
BP's Oil Slick May Shut-Down Louisiana Offshore Oil Port...
Problematic.
via AssPress/NOLA.com
Oil gushing from a blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico could force closure of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port next week, authorities said Friday.
The port, known as LOOP, is a platform off the Louisiana coast about 80 miles southwest of New Orleans. It is one of the leading facilities for imported oil, handling up to 1.2 million barrels a day and feeding half the nation's refinery capacity.
Tankers that are too large to enter the Mississippi River pull up to the facility and hook into a pipeline system that sends their oil to onshore refineries, including those lining the Mississippi north of New Orleans.
Current projections show the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon disaster could reach the port next week, said Sale Sittig, director of the Louisiana Oil Terminal Authority, an oversight body for LOOP.
"It definitely could be shut down if the heavy oil gets in the vicinity of the platform," Sittig said.
The Coast Guard would determine whether LOOP would be shut down. The port has never closed for an extended period since its inception in the 1970s, though it has closed briefly for hurricanes.
A long closure almost certainly would send gasoline prices higher, Sittig said.
More at the link. Emphasis mine.
To Top Of Main Page
Labels: Collapse, Oil Disaster, Oil Prices
