BP Says Key Unit at Indiana Refinery Remains Shut

BP Plc said in a statement Monday that a key unit of its refinery in Indiana remains shut, but said it has met all of its contractual obligations since the outage hit more than a week ago.

The Aug. 8 closure of the 413,000 barrel-a-day refinery's main crude distillation unit led to a huge spike in gasoline prices in the Midwest last week, amid concerns overall supplies wouldn't meet still-high consumer demand amid summer-driving season. In Indiana, retail gasoline prices were averaging $2.97 a gallon Monday, according to price-checking firm GasBuddy, up from $2.36 a gallon one week ago. Nationwide, gasoline prices are slightly higher from a week ago, at $2.67 a gallon.

"The BP Whiting Refinery continues repair work on a crude distillation unit that was shut down due to a malfunction," the company said in an email. "The rest of the refinery continues to operate safely and is producing fuel for customers, but at lower than normal volumes."

BP said it continues to address the shortfall created by the damaged unit, by acquiring additional supplies of fuel. As such, BP says it has met all its contractual obligations.

GasBuddy said last week's skyrocketing prices in the Midwestern states have settled down this week, even if they remain elevated.

"At this point, it does appear that most of the price shocks are behind us, though if there are any curve balls that hit the market, all bets are off," GasBuddy's Patrick DeHaan said. "Outside the Great Lakes, most regions are seeing gasoline prices decline."

The BP refinery, which started operations in 1889, is located in Whiting, on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan.

Write to Dan Molinski at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2015 13:44 ET (17:44 GMT)

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