Citgo backs off Lake Charles refinery shutdown plan

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Citgo Petroleum Corp backed off plans to complely shut its 430,000 barrel per day (bpd) Lake Charles, Louisiana, refinery on Sunday, and will only shut it down if hurricane-force winds are expected, sources said.

The company now plans to run the refinery at half capacity as hurricane-force winds of 74 miles per hour are no longer expected to hit the plant as Hurricane Gustav makes landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

But the refinery will be fully shut if forecasts for the area change and winds look set to strengthen significantly, sources said.

A Citgo spokeswoman said the company would not discuss refinery operations.

The refinery began shutting units non-essential to production on Saturday due to the threat of the approaching storm, the sources said.

Earlier on Sunday the refinery had been planning a full shutdown, the sources said.

But subsequent weather forecasts projected Gustav would move farther north than previously forecast, leading the refinery to decide it would continue operating at half-capacity to supply the region with motor fuels, the sources said.

Forecasters predicted Gustav would be a major Category 3 hurricane by Monday morning local time, with top winds at around 125 mph when it slams into the Louisiana coast, west of New Orleans.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Kim Coghill)