Coast Guard aims to reopen La. channel in 2 days

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday it
hoped 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 would 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, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was now
slated for 10:30 or 11 a.m. CDT on Thursday, with the results
expected after 1 p.m., he said.

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 government’s 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.