Colonial Pipeline Partially Shuts Down

The closure of key refineries and some of the pipeline’s own resources by Hurricane Harvey facilitated the partial closure.

​HOUSTON September 1, 2017; Hurricane Harvey has partially shut down the Colonial Pipeline, which funnels fuel between Houston and the East Coast, CNN Money reports.

“Colonial’s Lines 1 and 2 continue to operate from Lake Charles east. Deliveries will be intermittent and dependent on terminal and refinery supply. The lines remain down from Houston to Hebert due to the storms,” notes the Colonial Pipeline Company’s website.

“We currently estimate that we will be able to return to service from Houston Sunday, following an evaluation of our infrastructure and successful execution of our start up plan,” the company says.

Earlier this week, the nation’s largest refiner, Motiva, had initiated a full shutdown at its Port Arthur, Texas, plant. Many other refineries have closed temporarily because of the storm. However, some refineries that shut last week said they would restart in the coming days. Valero Energy Corp. and Flint Hills Resources have said they are planning to restart plants in the Corpus Christi, Texas, area.

Meanwhile, NACS is educating the public on why pump prices often rise after a disaster—and it’s usually not because a retailer is engaged in price gouging. For more NACS resources and updates on hurricane-related information, visit convenience.org/hurricane.