U.S. refiner HollyFrontier warns of lower than expected throughput

Jan 3 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiner HollyFrontier Corp's fourth-quarter throughput will be lower than forecast, hit by weather and turnaround setbacks at refineries in Washington, New Mexico and Oklahoma, the company warned on Monday.

Flooding in British Columbia, Canada, cut crude oil supplies to its recently acquired Puget Sound refinery in Washington and severe weather and operating problems restricted output at processing plants in New Mexico and Oklahoma, the company said.

Throughput in the three months to Dec. 31 averaged about 420,000 barrels per day (bpd), nearly 11% below the company's expectations of between 450,000 and 470,000 bpd.

The Dallas-based company acquired the Puget Sound refinery from Royal Dutch Shell in November.

Earnings per share for the quarter were expected to be 60 cents, according to Refinitiv IBES, compared with a loss of 74 cents in the same quarter a year ago.

(Reporting by Gary McWilliams Editing by David Goodman)

Advertisement