Operators of the Blue Moon restaurant in Ponca City probably thought their place would be flooded only “once in a blue moon.”
But the blue moon arrived this month and now the residents are under a life-threatening flood warning as the Arkansas River that makes a turn close to the city is well out of its banks and several feet above flood level.
And combined with flooding of the same river as it snakes through Tulsa, the result is impacting the nation’s oil markets.
Operators of the Holly Frontier refinery in Tulsa shut down operations days ago because the plant sits next to the river and floodwaters are out of the banks. Holly has about 650 full-time workers at the refinery that processes 125,000 barrels a day of crude oil. The refinery provides gasoline and diesel fuel in Oklahoma and the Mid-Continent region of the U.S.
Last week’s flooding resulted in a drop in crude prices before prices rebounded slightly this week. But this week prices dropped at the Cushing hub which isn’t far from Ponca City.
The city’s only refinery operated by Phillips 66 has yet to be affected by the flooding since it is a few miles from the floodwaters roaring out of the Arkansas River. The refinery processes a mixture of light, medium and heavy crude oils.
The company website indicates most of the crude oil processed there is received by pipeline from Oklahoma, Texas and Canada. It stated that infrastructure improvements have also allowed the delivery of increased volumes of locally produced advantaged crude oil by pipeline and truck.
And the flooding has resulted in a drop in oil transported to Cushing where West Texas Intermediate oil prices are set. It’s been reported the Pony Express pipeline that carries oil out of Wyoming to Cushing is shut down and it normally carries 400,000 barrels a day to the hub.
The flooding and resulting shutdowns have also affected petroleum product lines, especially gasoline. Slow pipeline operations have been reported elsewhere, all of this after severe Midwest flooding in March and April resulted in a shortage of biofuels.
Back in Ponca City, the toll of damage is growing.
City Manager Craig Stephens worries about the impact on the city’s power plant operations. Ponca City provides its own power.
“We’re down one substation already. We were down another one in Friday night’s storm. We brought it back up. We have another one surrounded by water,” he said.
And he knows there will be no quick end to the flooding. The Arkansas isn’t expected to crest until this weekend.
“You’re just standing here waiting. It’s a waiting game for the water to recede and that’ll be weeks from now.”