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Pascagoula, Miss., Refinery May Reopen By End of October, Chevron Officials Say

Posted on: Friday, 7 October 2005, 15:00 CDT

By Margaret Baker, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Oct. 7--PASCAGOULA -- Chevron officials said Thursday that their hurricane-battered refinery could reopen by the end of the month.

The Pascagoula refinery shut down Aug. 29 after Hurricane Katrina damaged the plant.

Chevron officials said the reopening is happening much earlier than initially thought.

"Many employees were displaced, and we spent a lot of time the first two weeks (after Katrina) helping employees get back on their feet," company spokesman Steve Renfroe said Thursday.

More than 300 Chevron employees were displaced as a result of the hurricane, the largest natural disaster in the history of the United States.

Katrina damaged the refinery's cooling towers, marine terminal and other vital equipment. The closure, officials said, is expected to decrease Chevron's third-quarter profit by $350 million, according to the Associated Press.

But, Renfroe said, officials are pleased that the refinery, which produces 325,000 barrels per day of refined products, didn't suffer more severe damage.

"After Hurricane Georges, we constructed a 50-foot hurricane dike around" the refinery, Renfroe said. "That hurricane dike provided a great deal of protection for the refinery (when Katrina struck)."

Though the refinery is expected to reopen, Chevron continues to recover from Katrina and Hurricane Rita that followed and affected offshore production.

Chevron has restored an estimated 20 percent of its oil production in the region.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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CVX,

Source: The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)

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