Kinder Morgan Reports Minimal Damage Due to Idalia

Aug 30 (Reuters) – Kinder Morgan on Wednesday said its Port Manatee, Port Sutton and Tampaplex terminals in Florida sustained minimal damage due to Hurricane Idalia, and that it was also planning to shut its Charleston area terminals later in the day.

The U.S. energy company said it was planning to reopen the terminals on Thursday, while its Tampa facilities including the Tampa refined products terminal and Central Florida Pipeline system have resumed normal operations.

The Port Manatee, Port Sutton and Tampaplex terminals handle commodities such as fertilizers, scrap metal, pet coke and coal, while the Charleston terminals move chemicals and petroleum. 

Kinder Morgan’s Central Florida Pipeline (CFPL) system consists of a 110-mile petroleum pipeline transporting gasoline and batched denatured ethanol, and an 85-mile petroleum line that moves diesel and jet fuel, according to the company website.

“Our Orlando refined products facility was not impacted and remained operational throughout the storm. Additionally, we have prepared portions of our Products (SE) Pipe Line system and KMST facilities in the path of the storm, though we do not expect significant impacts at this time,” the company said in a statement.

U.S. oil producer Chevron on Tuesday said it evacuated staff from three U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production platforms.

Oil prices were near flat as investors digested Idalia’s path and its effect on fuel demand, while U.S. government data showing tighter-than-expected crude supplies limited losses. Idalia came ashore as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday morning in Florida, knocking out power to more than 280,000 homes.

(Reporting by Rahul Paswan and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese and Nick Zieminski)

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