Ida Lays Waste To Substantial United States Energy Infrastructure

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Ida Lays Waste To Substantial United States Energy Infrastructure

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Hurrican Ida entering the Gulf of Mexico (copyright by Shutterstock/Limbitech)
Hurrican Ida entering the Gulf of Mexico (copyright by Shutterstock/Limbitech)

Pipelines across a broad swath of land in the southern United States were among the energy infrastructure casualties stemming from Category 4 Hurricane Ida.

Companies including Marathon Petroleum Corp. , Valero Energy Corp. , Phillips 66 and Royal Dutch Shell PLC shut roughly 8% of the nation’s refining capacity ahead of the storm, while Colonial Pipeline Co., operator of the largest U.S. fuel pipeline, closed two lines that carry fuel from Houston to Greensboro, N.C. Exxon Mobil Corp. had shut some units at its chemicals and refining complex in Baton Rouge, but said there was no significant storm damage.

Enbridge said it was mobilizing crews to assess its facilities and had declared it was temporarily suspending some contracts under force majeure on two offshore pipelines, according to the company and shipper notices.

Colonial said it expected to bring its two key lines back online Monday evening, following damage assessments and safety checks. Colonial moves more than 100 million gallons of fuel a day on its 5,500-mile pipe network from the Gulf Coast to Linden, N.J.

Pipeline companies in the coming days will work carefully to determine whether flooding, wind or other impacts of Ida caused any damage to the integrity of their facilities or posed any environmental threats.