Coast Guard aims to reopen La. channel in next 2 days

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday it
hopes to reopen in the “next couple of days” the rest of the
Calcasieu Ship Channel in Louisiana, the main artery for fresh
crude shipments to three oil refineries.

However, that will depend on a how a vessel test run
through the channel affects continuing clean-up efforts from an
oil spill last week that closed part of the waterway, according
to Coast Guard spokesman Adam Wine.

The test run had been scheduled for Wednesday but has now
been pushed back to the morning or early afternoon of Thursday,
he added.

The blocked waterway has forced the three refineries to cut
fuel production, rekindling gasoline supply fears just before
the travel-heavy July 4 holiday weekend.

The U.S. Department of Energy said it would lend 750,000
barrels of crude oil from the emergency stockpile to two of the
refiners, Citgo Petroleum Corp. and ConocoPhillips, to help
them continue to produce fuel as they await a resumption of
shipments on the channel.

The Coast Guard opened about nine miles of the channel
early on Wednesday. Later in the day, a spokesman said it hoped
to reopen the rest before the weekend, but that it may not
reopen until early next week depending on how clean-up efforts
went.