Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Power to return to ConocoPhillips's Alliance refinery by Monday

Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:32am EDT

HOUSTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Power is expected to be restored at ConocoPhillips's (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, no later than Monday, two weeks after Hurricane Gustav made landfall, utility Entergy Corp (ETR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday.

Entergy spokesman Alex Schott said power was expected to be back on by Monday in Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans, where the 247,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery is located.

Schott and other Entergy officials have declined to identify the refinery by name, although they have talked about the last refinery without power following Gustav.

Conoco's Alliance was the only plant without the power needed to restart as of Tuesday, Conoco and government officials have said.

"We're just hoping it gets up as soon as possible," said Conoco spokesman Bill Graham on Tuesday. "The date keeps changing. It's up to Entergy. Whatever they say. We're hoping sooner rather than later."

A dozen refineries were forced to shut in advance of Gustav's landfall in south Louisiana.

Conoco reported no significant damage at the refinery from Gustav.

One week after the storm, Entergy has restored power to 82 percent of its Louisiana customers that lost service, the company said Tuesday. But officials warned that the pace of restoration work will slow as workers move to the hardest-hit areas near Baton Rouge and along the Louisiana coast where the storm came ashore.

Some areas are not expected to have power before Oct. 1, according to the utility's web site.

Schott said the company is using a Chinook helicopter on loan from the Ohio National Guard to move heavy equipment into marshy areas to speed the recovery effort. (Reporting by Eileen O'Grady and Erwin Seba).

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