Platts Hurricane Isaac oil news update

The Explorer Pipeline has shut its Louisiana assets, and Magellan Pipeline has put into place a hurricane preparedness plan in advance of Tropical Storm Isaac, spokesmen with each company said Monday morning.
The 785,000 b/d Explorer Pipeline, which runs from Lake Charles, Louisiana, west to Pasadena, Texas, and then north through Tulsa, Oklahoma, en route to the Chicago-area, is currently monitoring the situation with the storm, Explorer spokesman Rod Woodford said.
"All of our assets in Louisiana are shut in," he said. "We do not expect any impact to the Texas-based locations."
The 12-inch-diameter Magellan Pipeline said that its hurricane preparedness plan is in place at this time, spokesman Bruce Heine said.
"The plan contains normal precautions, which includes adequate inventory levels in each tank," Heine said.
Magellan operates a 9,600-mile products pipeline system that runs from Houston to the US Midwest to North Dakota.
Phillips 66 shutting Belle Chase Alliance in Louisiana, Lake Charles Open
The 247,000 b/d Alliance refinery owned by Phillips 66 in Belle Chase, Louisiana, is in the process of being closed in preparation for Tropical Storm Isaac, the company said in a prepared statement.
But Phillips 66's Lake Charles refinery in Westlake, Louisiana, "remains unaffected at this time." That refinery is 239,000 b/d.
At Alliance, "(n)on-essential personnel have been released from work so that they may evacuate their families," the statement said. "We expect the refinery will be completely shut down by late Monday."
USGC ULSD differential up more than 4 cents/gal; highest since Hurricane Ike
The US Gulf Coast ULSD differential jumped 4 cents early Monday to its highest level since 2008 as a fire continued at Venezuela's main oil refinery and Tropical Storm Isaac approached the US Gulf Coast.
Traders said USGC ultra low sulfur diesel traded immediately at NYMEX October heating oil futures plus 13 cents/gal early Monday and was being bid higher. The differential was the highest since October 2, 2008, when it rose to plus 15 cents/gal in the wake of Hurricane Ike, according to Platts data.
USGC jet fuel rose nearly 2 cents to plus 11 cents/gal.
US Atlantic Coast jet fuel and ULSD differentials also rallied at least by a cent, with bids for each heard at October plus 14 cents/gal.
"All hurricane hype," said a New York broker.
The strength of ULSD also was evident in the forward curve, with September swaps heard 3 cents stronger at plus 11 by 11.75 cents/gal in early trade Monday. The backwardation between September and October swaps widening over 2 cents to 5.40 cents/gal, with October swaps up a cent to plus 5.50 by 6.50 cents/gal.
Tropical Storm Isaac, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h), was expected to become a hurricane in the next day or so, the National Hurricane Center said Monday at 8 a.m. EDT.
Meanwhile, PDVSA's 645,000 b/d refinery in Amuay was taken offline on Saturday as a precaution after a fire hit an area of the refinery's tank farm. The fire at Venezuela's largest refinery killed at least 39 people and left more than 80 injured.
Source: Platts