Some Florida fuel terminals and a major refined products pipeline expect to restore operations over the weekend thanks to minimal damage from Hurricane Milton, but a return to normal in Port Tampa is being hampered by power outages.
Kinder Morgan's Orlando terminal is operational but the company is still assessing its Tampa area terminals and the Central Florida Pipeline (CFPL) after Hurricane Milton made landfall as a category 3 storm late Wednesday, a spokesperson said at 3pm ET Friday.
Kinder plans to have its Tampa fuels rack and 16-inch CFPL pipeline online by late Saturday and the 10-inch CFPL pipeline online by the end of the weekend. The company's three Tampa bulk terminals are likely to remain offline Friday due to widespread power outages and damage to the surrounding area.
The CFPL pipeline transports gasoline, diesel, ethanol and jet fuel to Orlando, including to Orlando International Airport, and is connected to Kinder's Tampa refined products terminal that has 1.8mn bls of storage.
Nearly half of Florida's supply of petroleum and refined products passes through Port Tampa Bay, the majority via waterborne cargo from the US Gulf coast.
Port Tampa Bay is still assessing its land and seaside operations, port officials said this morning. It re-opened for limited operations late Thursday having avoided widespread flooding, though power outages in the area remain an issue.
Global Partners' Tampa terminal is without power and running on generators, the company said today. Employees are cleaning up minor damage and Global expects the facility to be "fully operational soon".
Buckeye Partners' Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, terminals are fully operational and the company is working to restore operations at its two Tampa terminals, a Buckeye spokesperson said today.
Chevron is repairing damage at its Tampa terminal, but did not give a time line for a return to normal operations. The company's Port Everglades and Panama City terminals are online and selling fuels, the company said today.
Citgo expects its Tampa terminal to restore operations by mid-to-late next week, the company said today.
The St Petersburg-Clearwater International airport (PIE) west of Port Tampa is expected to open at 4pm ET Friday according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport further south is expected to reopen early Saturday morning. Miami airport is open and Orlando International resumed commercial flights today.
Prices for Florida CBOB delivered at Tampa and Port Everglades fell by 1.87¢/USG to $2.15/USG today. Cash differentials were stable in the Florida gasoline cargo markets at Argus Gulf coast Colonial CBOB +10¢/USG.
Prices for Florida ULSD delivered to Port Everglades fell by 0.44¢/USG to $2.39/USG today. Cash differentials were unchanged in the waterborne ULSD cargo markets at Argus Gulf coast Colonial ULSD +12.25¢/USG.
