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BP restarting its Texas refinery
Evening Standard 23 Sep 2008Oil and gas major BP has begun restarting a cracker unit at its giant Texas City refinery, which it shut down ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ike.
The company began the process at the weekend, and it may not be completed for more than a week.
Texas City is one of America's biggest refineries, producing some 468,000 barrels a day.
The whole plant may not be fully functional before
10 October.
While Hurricane Ike did not cause much damage to the region's oil and gas installations, the shutdown has disrupted supplies.
BP has pledged $8 million (£4.3 million) in local relief efforts for victims of the hurricane through organisations such as the Red Cross.
Hurricane forecasters have warned that, although past its statistical peak, the storm season could still have some sting left in its tail.
Forecasters expected up to 18 storms this season, but only six major ones have materialised so far.
