How the Irving refinery explosion could affect Maine fuel prices and availability
Updated:
The effect of the explosion Monday morning at an
"We are trying to find out what the extent of the damage is," said
Monroe said the state has its
She said she expected to have more information Tuesday afternoon.
Irving posted an update on its website Tuesday, saying the company "can confirm that the refinery as a whole is safe and the specific site of the incident is isolated and contained ... we are currently planning to have our turnaround team back on site this evening for the night shift. Our plans for returning to full turnaround mode will be discussed at that time."
Whether and how the explosion will affect heating and gasoline prices in
"Where it happened in the refinery and how long it will take to fix it are two key pieces of information to look for," said
An Irving spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
"If Irving is affected for a long time, the market will adjust.
"If the outage at Irving lasts a long time, that's where the alternatives come in," Mason said. "Depending on what specific unit is impacted at Irving -- heating fuel or gasoline -- will swing the price one way or the other."
He noted that Irving already had at least parts of the plant shut down for maintenance, a common practice during the shoulder season between fall and winter. When a plant is down for maintenance, the company typically makes alternative plans to keep its customers supplied during that time.
He said it makes sense that the incident happened at some part of the refinery that was down for maintenance. There would be a bigger price impact if there was a sudden, unplanned refinery outage.
The six
There were 7.3 million barrels of distillate, which includes fuel oil and diesel, in storage as of
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