Troubles at BP’s Whiting refinery hurts gas prices

WHITING, Ind. – A leak that forced BP to temporarily shut down a Lake Michigan refinery’s biggest crude unit has helped fuel this week’s jump in gasoline prices, industry officials said.

Prices in northwestern Indiana climbed to an average of $3.07 per gallon for unleaded regular Tuesday, up from $2.91 a week ago, according to the AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.


The Whiting refinery, the largest supplier of gasoline to Midwest markets, detected a small leak in its No. 12 pipe distillation unit July 5, BP spokesman Thomas Keilman told The Times of Munster on Tuesday.

He said the unit needed to be shut down for an intensive inspection to determine the extent of the leak and make repairs. The distillation unit can process 250,000 barrels of oil daily – about 40 percent of the refinery’s capacity.

AP