April 29, 2011 [Opis] - Severe weather and heavy flooding from the Mississippi River will see ExxonMobil close its Memphis, Tenn. terminal for 18 days beginning tomorrow.
The oil company will shut down all products loading at the Memphis terminal from Friday, April 29 at 10 a.m., through Monday, May 16, according to a notice obtained by OPIS. The terminal will reopen on May 17, at midnight.
Its possible supplies will be made available at Little Rock or Aberdeen in the meantime, sources said.
Meanwhile, Motiva has advised its customers to go to Motiva-Nashville or Motiva-Birmingham as alternate loading points during the shutdown.
ExxonMobil is the first terminal to shut down in the Memphis area due to storm-related flooding. The floods may trigger shutdowns at other terminals though no other closings could be confirmed at press time.
Tennessee is under a State of Emergency amid forecasts for the highest river stages since the flood of 1937. The river reached the 34-foot flood stage at Memphis earlier this week and weather forecasts indicate that it could rise to an estimated 45 feet by May 10.
