(Includes dispatches from Delaware Business Now and WHYY)
The largest East Coast refinery is expected to close its doors after an explosion and fire earlier this month.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement Wednesday that Philadelphia Energy Solutions had informed him of its decision to shut down the facility in the next month. The more than 1,000 workers at the site will be impacted, the mayor said.
The refinery operated by Philadelphia Energy Solutions had been facing severe financial difficulties, even before the blast. The one-refinery company had previously emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The amount of gasoline that will be lost from the refinery is sizable, but it can easily be made up by imports from Europe or elsewhere, said Jonathan Aronson, research analyst at Cornerstone Macro.
“We’re not expecting any major shocks to retail gasoline (prices),” Aronson said. Consumers are more likely to feel gasoline prices increase due to the price of crude oil, which has been rallying in recent days, he said.
The refinery has been an important source fueling transportation in the Northeast, which is situated far from Gulf Coast refineries, and “at least temporarily, it’s going to require some logistical shifting that could come at a cost,” said Kevin Book, managing director at Clearview Energy Partners.
Following the explosion, shares of Delaware City refinery owner PBF Energy rose sharply on speculation that a possible closing would aid the company. Shares of PBF were up 5 percent in trading today.
PBF also owns a refinery in Paulsboro, NJ. The two Delaware Valley refineries combined are about the size of the Philadelphia complex, which consists of two refineries. Oil has been refined at the site for a century and a half.
Click here for the story from WHYY.
