May 12, 2011 [OPIS] - Oil terminals along the lower Mississippi River are shutting down their shipping operations within the next few days as a precaution to the rising water levels, and some will suspend operations indefinitely as a result.
Magellan is currently loading barges at its 2.8-million-bbl capacity oil terminal in Marrero, La., along the lower Mississippi River, Bruce Heine, a company spokesman, told OPIS late on Thursday.
However, “once we have safely loaded the barges at our docks, we are not planning to load or unload additional barges or vessels until we determine it is safe to resume normal operations,” he said. The current barging activity will end later on Thursday.
Operations at the terminal will be suspended later on Thursday after Magellan completes loading the barges at its docks.
NuStar’s 4.9-million-bbl capacity St. James terminal is still fully operational at this point, but will suspend all deep draft vessel operations when the river stage reaches 32 feet at Donaldsonville, which is forecasted to reach this level on Friday.
NuStar will suspend all inland barge marine activity when the river stage reaches 33 feet at Donaldsonville, which is forecasted to happen this Sunday.
“The Mississippi River Maritime Association (MRMA) has informed us that restrictions would be placed on deep draft (ocean-going vessels) when the river gauge in New Orleans reaches 17.5 feet on the rise, which currently is forecasted to happen by this Sunday (May 15), and there would be a river closure when that gauge reaches 18.5 feet on the rise, which is forecasted to occur next Wednesday (May 18),” Mary Rose Brown, a company spokeswoman, told OPIS late on Thursday.
It is unclear if these forecasted predictions will prove true.
The St. James Terminal’s capacity will be up to 8 million barrels by the end of the year, when the current expansion project is complete.
Besides Magellan and NuStar, other major terminals along the river, including Plains All-American at St. James, IMTT at St Rose, and IMTT at Geismar, are also expected to face rising water levels at the barge and shipping docks.
Most terminals are expected to shut down shipping activity on the river, but some terminals could remain operational if they have access to rail and pipelines.
This is expected to cause a supply issue for marketers, especially unbranded
ones, as seen in the Midwest in the past week.
