π¨πΊπΈ The Valero Port Arthur refinery is one of the largest in the United States
The facility processes roughly 395,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it a critical piece of America's fuel supply chain.
Port Arthur sits along the Gulf Coast refining corridor that handles nearly half of all U.S. refining capacity.
This comes at the worst possible time.
The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed.
Iraq declared force majeure on its oil production.
Qatar's LNG hub is damaged. Global crude is above $100.
And the U.S. just authorized sales of Iranian and Russian oil to keep markets from spiraling further.
Even a temporary shutdown of a facility this size tightens domestic fuel supply at a moment when Americans are already paying $3.90+ at the pump.
If repairs take weeks, gas prices in the Gulf Coast region could spike ahead of the rest of the country.
Source: KHOU / Reuters