Phillips 66 will be temporarily closing down its 253,600-bpd Alliance, Louisiana, refinery ahead of possible flooding from a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico which is expected to become a hurricane on Friday and which has already shut in 32 percent of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico’s oil production. Phillips 66 said on Thursday that it planned to complete the closing of the refinery in the morning, following mandatory evacuation orders from local authorities, Reuters reports. According to the National Weather Service forecast as of 11:08 a.m. EDT on Thursday, the tropical storm Barry may strengthen to a hurricane on ... (full story)