By Dan Molinski
BP Plc said Wednesday that production at its large refinery in
Indiana has been reduced due to a forced shutdown of a key crude
unit over the weekend.
The partial shutdown that began Saturday at the 413,000
barrel-a-day refinery in the community of Whiting has led to a rise
in gasoline prices in Indiana and other states in the Midwest, amid
concerns of a lack of supply. The average pump price in Indiana is
$2.57 a gallon today, 21 cents higher than it was 24 hours ago,
according to gas price-checking website GasBuddy.com.
"The Whiting Refinery in Indiana shut down the largest of its
three crude distillation units for unscheduled repair work," BP
said. "BP is working to safely restart the unit as soon as
possible. In the meantime, the company is working to meet its
fuel-supply obligations."
The gasoline-supply worries in the Midwest were exacerbated
earlier Wednesday when the Energy Information Administration
released data showing that refiners in the Midwest were running
last week at 99% of their total capacity. This could mean that
nearby refineries might not be able to increase their production to
make up for lower production at Whiting.
Write to Dan Molinski at dan.molinski@wsj.com
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