AS OF 28 September, only two Gulf Coast refineries remained shut down as a result of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and all the others were in various stages of restarting or fully restarted. Colonial Pipeline, the main source of supply to the US’ Southeast, where spot fuel shortages continued to be reported, announced on 29 September that it was running at maximum capacity, indicating adequate levels of refined products available for transportation to the Southeast and Eastern Seaboard. Plantation Pipe Line, capable of delivering about 20% of the volume of Colonial, was also reportedly operating at maximum capacity.
In Atlanta, where motor fuel remains in short supply, product arriving by pipeline was at normal levels. Retailers blamed the shortages on panic buying by motorists topping off tanks, creating the shortages.
The US Minerals Management Service reports that 111 production platforms and one rig in the US Gulf of Mexico are still evacuated, following Hurricane Ike. Around 48% of the oil production and 47.4% of the natural gas production in the US Gulf are still shut-in. Shell's production restart in the Gulf was occurring slowly, and was at around 32,000brl/d, compared to peak rates of 500,000brl/d. The company's Brutus, South Timbalier 301, Mars, Ursa, and West Delta 143 assets were expected to be back on line by the end of the week. All but one of Anadarko's operated facilities in the Gulf of Mexico were operational, although some production was still curtailed due to third-party pipelines and infrastructure.
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