Homeland Panel to Probe How U.S. Refinery Closures Risk Supply Shortages, Increase Threat to Critical Infrastructure

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Patrick Meehan (PA-07) today announced the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence will probe how nationwide refinery closures – including three in the Philadelphia area – could increase the risks to domestic critical infrastructure and threaten supply shortages in the case of a global crisis.

“Two of our local refineries have closed and one is slated for closure – together they account for 50 percent of the Northeast’s entire refinery capacity,” said Meehan. “More than 30 U.S. refineries have closed in the last decade. This hearing will help us understand the homeland security consequences of our declining domestic refining capacity, both in terms of threats to critical infrastructure and our dependence on imports from unstable parts of the world.”

Meehan said he would move to schedule the hearing as quickly as possible.

The Energy Information Administration has advised that sharp reductions in northeast refining capacity could spur alternative supply options, such as maritime shipments and pipelined product from the Gulf Coast, rail shipments from the Midwest and Plains, and imports from overseas areas like Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Venezuela. Among other topics, Meehan said he sought to investigate whether greater reliance on any of these options would increase the threat to shipping, rail and pipeline infrastructure, or exacerbate an import supply shortage in the event of global or regional crisis.

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