Economist Dr. Loren Scott
St. James Parish is still in shock after last week’s news that Shell would be shuttering their Convent oil refinery by the end of the month, a move impacting 700 jobs.
LSU Economist Dr. Loren Scott says Convent is a great site but all refineries are in a pickle right now, the primary reason being COVID.
“We are still consuming about eleven percent less gasoline than we were pre-COVID, and that is just gasoline. If you look at jet fuel it is much worse,” said Scott.
A Shell statement says the closure was part of a companywide move towards more integrated sites and their lower-carbon future.
But Scott is optimistic that those the facility won’t be offline forever. He says it’s high tech, well maintained, and strategically located. He doesn’t expect Shell will have trouble finding a buyer.
“Once we get a vaccine and start driving and flying again it is going to be a really great asset to sell,” said Scott.
Reports indicate Shell has been trying to sell the facility since July.
Scott says he is not concerned that the closure of the Convent site portends any greater trend towards future refinery closures and Louisiana is still positioned as one of the top refining states.
“We are the number two state in the nation in refining capacity and we have 18 refineries and of course in our area, we have a number of refineries that are typically very big,” said Scott.
Scott warns if a buyer is not found those 700 jobs could impact over 5,000 other jobs statewide.
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