BP Whiting outage boosts midcon gasoline, diesel

Market: Crude oil, Oil products
01/02/24

A major outage at the largest refinery in the US midcontinent has raised regional gasoline and diesel prices while lowering Canadian heavy crude prices.

BP began shutting down operations at its 435,000 b/d Whiting, Indiana, refinery midday today after a suspected power outage, evacuating non-essential workers, the company told Argus. Nearby roads were closed to assist with the evacuation order, which was lifted at around 5pm ET, although roads remained closed, according to the City of Whiting.

Increased bid levels for Chicago's West Shore/Badger CBOB sent prices up by 6.61¢/USG to $1.79/USG today. The sharp rise in prices came amid elevated buying interest in the second half of the day as news of the refinery outage circulated in the markets. Despite elevated buying interest, no selling offers emerged.

Outright prices for Chicago's Buckeye Complex ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) also surged by 20.52¢/USG to $2.59/USG.

The Whiting outage pressured a key Canadian heavy crude price today as it is one of the biggest consumers of the grade in the US midcontinent. Western Canadian Select at Hardisty started the day trading at a $18.25/bl discount to CMA Nymex WTI futures in the morning, but the discount widened after the outage to as much as $19/bl before falling to between $18.80-$18.60/bl.

The refinery produces about 238,000 b/d of gasoline, 95,000 b/d of diesel and 48,000 b/d of jet fuel and supplies approximately 7pc of all asphalt in the US, according to BP.

By Nathan Risser

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