Valero Energy Corp. is restarting operations of its refineries in Louisiana temporarily shuttered following extensive regional power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the eye of which made landfall as a Category 4 storm along the southeastern coast of Louisiana, near Port Fourchon, at about 11:55 a.m. CST on Aug. 29 (OGJ Online, Sept. 1, 2021).
As of Sept. 14, refinery restarts were under way at subsidiaries Valero Refining Meraux LLC’s 125,000-b/d refinery in Meraux, La., and Valero Refining New Orleans LLC’s 215,000-b/d refinery in Norco, with teams diligently working in a safe and environmentally responsible manner to resume normal operations, Valero said in an e-mail to OGJ.
Restart activities also are under way at the Valero-Darling Ingredients Inc. 50-50 joint venture Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC’s (DGD) 290-million gal/year renewable diesel plant in Norco, La., according to the operator.
Valero additionally confirmed DGD’s 400-million gal renewable diesel expansion project at Norco still remains on track to be operational by the middle of fourth-quarter 2021 (OGJ Online, Jan. 29, 2021).
The company did not reveal whether the Louisiana manufacturing complexes sustained any notable damages resulting from Ida.
