Hess to cut back Port Reading refinery rates ahead of Sandy

Hess Corp said on Sunday it would begin to cut rates at its 70,000 barrel per day refinery in Port Reading, New Jersey, at 6 p.m. EDT ahead of Hurricane Sandy.

"We are taking the necessary steps to prepare our Port Reading, N.J. refinery for high winds and storm water," a company spokesperson said.

Port Reading is located on a spit of land reaching up into the southern edge of New York Harbor.

(Reporting by Janet McGurty)