Published: November 10, 2021 |

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The upcoming closure of a Plaquemines Parish oil refinery is leaving the surrounding community concerned for its future.

Phillips 66 announced Monday afternoon it would turn its Alliance Refinery in Belle Chasse to a storage terminal next year. The conversion comes after Hurricane Ida’s storm surge caused the property $1.3 billion in damage, and it leaves some 900 jobs in limbo.

“We made this decision after exploring several options and considering the investment needed to repair the refinery following Hurricane Ida,” Phillips 66 chairman and CEO Greg Garland said in a statement.

Word caught on quickly around Belle Chasse, where many people either have worked or know someone who has worked at the refinery.

“You’re either a fisherman, a shrimper, oysterman or you work in an oil refinery down here. It’s part of the way of life here,” former Alliance Refinery worker Tyler Thompson said Tuesday.

The news also sparked heavy helpings of chatter at Highway 23 Barbecue, where dozens of refinery workers have been getting their breakfasts and lunches for years.

“It sucks for the parish. These workers are really, really good guys. You think of some of the best people you know, and that’s them,” restaurant owner Bobby Monsted III said.

The Alliance Refinery was built in 1971 and has refined light crude oil into gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels. It also produced feedstocks for other petrochemical products, home heating oil and petroleum. Its conversion into a storage base comes as Phillips 66 furthers its shift toward lower-carbon fuels.

The refinery will be Louisiana’s second to shutter within a year. In November 2020, Shell closed a facility in St. James Parish, taking 1,100 jobs with it.

The recent closures leave Plaquemines Parish Councilman Beau Black concerned that longtime oil workers will find jobs in other states — and leave Louisiana behind.

“This is one of the things that keeps me up at night. My thoughts and prayers go to the families involved,” Black said.

Roughly 500 employees and 400 contractors work at the Alliance Refinery, according to numbers Phillips 66 provided.

Thompson, the former refinery worker, says it’s not too late for Belle Chasse businesses to hire the outgoing Alliance Refinery workers, thus keeping them in the community.

“There’s a tight community of everyone who has worked in those places. They all know someone. Hopefully they can make a call to a friend,” Thompson said.

Source: WDSU

About Phillips 66
Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses, the company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 14,000 employees committed to safety and operating excellence. Phillips 66 had $57 billion of assets as of June 30, 2021.

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