Business
12:03, 03-Sep-2017
Storm Harvey: US companies go big on charity as Gulf Coast refineries restart
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US companies have committed more than 170 million US dollars for relief efforts in the week since Hurricane Harvey made landfall and deluged Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city.
Companies in industries from energy to airlines are pitching in, led by pledges of 20 million US dollars from Walmart, 10 million US dollars from Verizon and dozens of 1 million US dollars promises.
Most companies are opting for cash and routing support primarily through the American Red Cross, but other companies are mixing it up to capitalize on their own expertise, or to engage employees and customers.
A note is left on a gas pump in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Cedar Park, Texas, US, September 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo
A note is left on a gas pump in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Cedar Park, Texas, US, September 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo
"Companies are really starting to leverage their core assets so it's not just checkbook philanthropy," said Marc DeCourcey, senior vice president of the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Meanwhile, US Gulf Coast refineries and fuel distribution terminals have started to reopen, a week after Harvey knocked out nearly 25 percent of the nation’s refining capacity and sent gasoline prices spiking.
While much of the region’s refining infrastructure still remains offline, the restarts are a first step in alleviating concerns about US fuel supplies.
Exxon Mobil Corp said on Saturday it was restarting its 560,500 barrel per day (bpd) facility in Baytown, Texas, America’s second-biggest oil refinery, after it was inundated by flooding.
Motorists line up for gasoline at a Costco gas station in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Cedar Park, Texas, US, September 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo
Motorists line up for gasoline at a Costco gas station in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Cedar Park, Texas, US, September 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo
The announcements came after Citgo Petroleum Corp said on Friday it would restart its 157,500 bpd refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Retail gasoline prices have risen more than 17.5 cents since August 23, before the storm began, amid worries Harvey would trigger supply shortages.
Pump prices were at 2.59 US dollars a gallon on Saturday, according to motorists advocacy group AAA, up 3 percent from Friday and 16.7 percent higher on average than a year ago.
In Latin America, the largest buyer of US fuels, oil companies have been scouring the globe to find other supplies of gasoline and distillates to compensate for the Gulf Coast outages.
Nearly half of US refining capacity is in the Gulf Coast region.
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