BP seen restarting L.A. FCC over weekend -sources

HOUSTON, March 21 (Reuters) BP Plc. (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to begin restarting a 103,000 barrel per day gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit at its 265,000 bpd Los Angeles-area refinery in Carson, California, over the weekend, sources familiar with refinery operations said on Friday.

The FCC restart comes after wholesale gasoline prices spiked up 8.5 cents in the Los Angles market on Thursday because of overhauls at several California refineries and a power outage a Chevron Corp's (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 260,000 bpd Los Angeles-area refinery in El Segundo, California.

The FCC was shut on Jan. 10 for a planned two-month overhaul that was extended by three weeks, sources have said.

A BP spokesman declined to discuss operations at the refinery.

The FCC work is a major overhaul of the unit, which is done once every five years. A major overhaul frequently runs into delays. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Neil Stempleman)