Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)

[eFinanceMarkets]

$XOM Beaumont port restricted after Harvey but Exxon refinery finds workaround

Crude oil deliveries by larger ships to the Beaumont, Tex., port remain restricted following Hurricane Harvey, but a workaround using pipelines is supplying Exxon Mobil’s (NYSE:XOM) refinery there, Reuters reports.

The port has been closed to ship traffic over 26 ft. since Sept. 9 by the Coast Guard because of shoaling - sediment or sand that washes up on the bottom of the waterway, posing problems for shipping traffic - and it is not yet known when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be able to dredge the waterway.

But ships are able to make their way to Sunoco’s terminal, which has pipelines, that can deliver crude to XOM's 362K bbl/day Beaumont refinery, according to the report.

Overall imports into the Gulf Coast, which averaged 2.5M barrels in the week prior to Harvey, have averaged a respective 1.47M and 1.77M in the two weeks since, EIA data shows.

XOM reportedly restarted the refinery's two crude distillations units today after shutting them down nearly three weeks ago due to Harvey.