Chevron Surveys Hurricane Damage

SAN RAMON, Calif. -- Chevron Corp. has repaired a hurricane-damaged product berth at its Pascagoula, Miss., refinery and is now transporting refined product from Pascagoula to its Collins, Miss., terminal and to the Plantation Pipeline for delivery to terminals and markets in the southeastern United States.

"Chevron is grateful that all of its employees in the Gulf Coast region are safe and secure," Chevron chairman and CEO David J. O'Reilly said. "We also are pleased that our business resumption efforts are progressing well. The ability to import product to Pascagoula represents significant progress in our efforts to improve the fuel supply situation and meet the needs of consumers until we are able to restart the refinery."

The San Ramon, Calif.-based company received a cargo of 11.5 million gallons of regular grade gasoline on Sept. 16 from a European supplier. Chevron has 2,734 locations and is prepared to import additional shipments of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as needed to supply customers. The company also confirmed that it has accounted for all of its approximately 3,700 employees in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

At its upstream facilities, Chevron has returned to 56 percent of its pre-Katrina production level in the Gulf of Mexico and continues to assess the status and condition of all of its facilities in the Gulf region. In addition, Chevron continues to monitor new weather systems affecting the Gulf of Mexico and has begun evacuation of personnel from the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Rita, which is standard operating procedure.

Chevron's major deepwater oil and natural gas production facilities -- Genesis, Typhoon and Petronius -- were not significantly damaged. Genesis and Typhoon have been restaffed and are producing oil and natural gas. Petronius is ready to resume production once export pipeline infrastructure is available.

"We are continuing to work safely to bring more production online as quickly as possible," said O'Reilly. "I am very proud of our organization and the commitment and determination our people have shown toward resuming operations under very challenging circumstances."

Most of the company's oil and natural gas production facilities on the Gulf of Mexico shelf were not significantly damaged. A key factor in getting all Gulf of Mexico fields back on production was the integrity of the oil and gas pipeline systems and onshore terminals and plants, especially gas processing plants serving gas transmission pipelines. The company's Empire and Fourchon pipeline terminals are nonoperational at this time.

Temporary offices for New Orleans-based employees are being established in Louisiana and Texas. The company's Gulf of Mexico office in New Orleans was moved temporarily to Lafayette, La., where the company continues to operate an Incident Command Center and coordinate response activities with federal, state and local authorities.

At its downstream facilities, Chevron continues to assess damage to the Pascagoula Refinery. The refinery is expected to commence the start-up process for a single train (a crude unit and associated conversion facilities) in mid-October with full operation in mid-November. Currently, more than 1,000 employees and contractors are working in the refinery and full electrical power has been restored, a breached section of the dike surrounding the refinery was repaired and industrial water service was completed.

Damage to Chevron Oronite's Oak Point lubricant and fuel additive manufacturing facility in Belle Chasse, La., appears to be moderate compared with the surrounding areas of New Orleans. The plant is temporarily shut down to make necessary repairs and to ensure a safe work environment. Truck and rail transportation remain critical components for receiving raw materials and shipping product. Limited blending and shipping operations were expected to begin this week, depending upon road access to the facility.


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