May 11, 2012:

BP Plc halted the restart of the central crude distillation unit at its 225,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Cherry Point, Washington, refinery because of problems during its return to service after a three-month shutdown for repairs, sources familiar with refinery operations said on Thursday. The shutdown sent gasoline prices up 23 cents a gallon in the Los Angeles spot market to a 70-cent-per-gallon premium over the New York Mercantile Exchange's June RBOB contract, traders said. The differential later retreated.

It was unknown how long the Cherry Point crude unit would be shut for the new repairs, the sources said on Thursday. A BP spokesman declined to discuss operations at the refinery. One of the sources said the problem that halted the restart, which began over the weekend, was initially thought to be minor, but that diagnosis could change. "When you're returning from a three-month shutdown for repairs following a fire, you're not always sure what you may find," the source said.

The Cherry Point refinery was shut on Feb. 17 by a fire in the crude distillation unit, which does the initial refining of crude oil coming into the refinery and provides feedstock for all other production units at the refinery. BP combined the repairs with planned overhauls of units at the refinery. Gasoline prices in the Los Angeles market retreated later in the day to 55 cents over June NYMEX RBOB.

By Reuters