The Gulf Coast was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, and the effects are going to take time to wear off, but the situation has also made U.S. crude exports much more competitive. Harvey knocked out more than 4 million barrels per day (mb/d) of refining capacity for a few days, but three weeks on from the storm, there is still some refining capacity offline. As of September 19, an estimated 15 of the 20 refineries affected in Texas and Louisiana were back to normal production, or close to normal production, according to IHS Markit . Another four were planning to restart operations. But that does not mean that all is well. For example, the U.S.’ largest refinery, the Motiva facility in Port Arthur, is still producing below capacity . Valero’s Port Arthur refinery caught fire earlier this week, an example of the perils of restarting a major refinery. ExxonMobil’s Baytown […]