Our St. Charles refinery manager reports that he estimates one-to-two weeks before our St. Charles refinery can start up again.

Under non-hurricane conditions, simpler refineries could probably start up in the 3-to-5 day range. More complex refineries like St. Charles would typically require 5-to-7 days.

But circumstances are currently very challenging in Louisiana.

The refinery has no power. Preliminary estimates are 2-to-3 days before we get power back at the plant.

We experienced three feet of flood water in the FCC unit and the alkylation unit.

Preliminary assessments indicate that we will have to repair pumps, electric motors and electrical switchgear.
We have minor damage to our cooling towers and insulation was knocked off several tanks.

We do not know when employees will be allowed to return to the area and can begin reporting back to work.

The good news: No major damage apparent. No spills or leaks are evident.

Also, we are very happy to hear that crude will be available from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This gives us confidence that we will have the crude we need when our St. Charles refinery is ready to start up again.