The Bakken Effect -- East Coast Refineries Come Roaring Bakk(en) -- Platts

Platts is reporting:

Alarm bells rang along the US Eastern Seaboard not too long ago that the region would face fuel shortages due to refinery closures in the region, but the dynamics changed with the entrance of some new players as well as domestic crude supply via rail from the Bakken Shale play.

The region is study in contrasts in a matter of a few short years. A couple of years ago, it seemed three major plants might close: the then Sunoco-owned refineries in Marcus Hook and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the then ConocoPhillips-owned Trainer, Pennsylvania, refinery. All that came amid Hess and partner PDVSA initially scaling back operations of the Hovensa refinery on St. Croix, which exported to the US Atlantic Coast, to 350,000 b/d in 2011 before shutting it in January 2012.

The US Energy Information Administration focused on the potential problem in an initial report in late 2011 that was updated in the spring of last year. One thrust was EIA noting that if the Philadelphia, Marcus Hook and Trainer plants went offline, that would result in the loss of 50% of East Coast refining capacity (as of August 2011).

But, Philadelphia Energy Solutions now runs the 330,000 b/d Philadelphia refinery while a subsidiary of Delta Airlines runs the 185,000 b/d Trainer refinery, having bought it in June 2012 to recalibrate the plant to produce more jet fuel. Trainer also supplies refined products to Phillips 66 and BP. The 175,000 b/d Marcus Hook refinery was idled at the end of 2011 and now serves as a Sunoco Logistics tank farm storing gasoline and middle distillates.

I wonder if Snopes or Jane Nielson will ever update their sites regarding the Bakken.