Hurricane Nicholas on Sept. 14 took another swipe at U.S. Gulf Coast energy facilities, cutting offshore oil and gas output gradually recovering from the last storm and disrupting power to onshore pipeline, gas and chemical plants.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc halted production its Perdido offshore oil platform due to heavy winds, and U.S. LNG producer Freeport LNG said processing at its Texas coast facility was halted, likely due to a power outage.
Power losses briefly cut Colonial Pipeline’s main gasoline and diesel lines out of Houston, with its gasoline line resuming some shipments midday. Outages also halted production at Lyondell Basell’s plastics plant in Matagorda County, Texas.
Shipping at several Texas and Louisiana ports also ground to a halt on heavy seas and power outages.
Gulf Coast oil refiners were largely unscathed. Citgo Petroleum and Phillips Petroleum said their operations in Texas and Louisiana were continuing. Shell also said its Deer Park, Texas, plant ran through the storm.
Nicholas made landfall as Category 1 hurricane on Sept. 13, the second storm in two weeks to hit major oil and refining hubs at the U.S. Gulf Coast. The region had just been starting to recover from Hurricane Ida.
Over 40% of the U.S. Gulf’s oil output remained shut on Sept. 13 after Ida, a Category 4 storm, damaged offshore infrastructure and other critical energy facilities in Louisiana.
U.S. gasoline futures were up slightly on Sept. 14, at $2.1691 a gallon, while benchmark WTI oil futures were trading flat $70.33/bbl.
Shell said it was ready to restart production at its offshore Perdido platform once power is restored to a receiving facility. The company had no plans to return staff to the offshore facility on Sept. 14.
Nicholas, downgraded to a tropical storm, was moving slowly toward the northeast and expected to turn eastward on Sept. 15 over Louisiana, where many energy facilities are still struggling to recover from Ida.
More Restrictions
Over 425,000 customers in Texas were without power due to the storm, including 150,000 in Houston, according to Mayor Sylvester Turner. Vessel traffic was idled on Tuesday morning at the Houston Ship Channel as pilots continued to suspend activity while Nicholas moved through the area, a pilot official said.
The ports of Houston, Freeport, Galveston and Texas City were open with restrictions, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Port of Houston and Freeport Harbor Channel both reported power outages.
Vessel traffic on the Calcasieu Ship Channel was also suspended on Sept. 14, the Lake Charles, Louisiana, Pilots Association said. The pilots bring vessels delivering or loading at oil and chemical plants in the Port of Lake Charles.
Texas and Louisiana ports set restrictions while Nicholas passes through, and some shippers expect these to add to delays from infrastructure woes caused by Hurricane Ida for loading vessels with U.S. crudes for exports and discharging oil imports for refining.
Recommended Reading
US Expected to Supply 30% of LNG Demand by 2030
2024-02-23 - Shell expects the U.S. to meet around 30% of total global LNG demand by 2030, although reliance on four key basins could create midstream constraints, the energy giant revealed in its “Shell LNG Outlook 2024.”
API Gulf Coast Head Touts Global Emissions Benefits of US LNG
2024-04-01 - The U.S. and Louisiana have the ability to change global emissions through the export of LNG, although new applications have been frozen by the Biden administration.
CERAWeek: Two Minutes with EQT’s Toby Rice on Energy Security
2024-03-22 - EQT Corp. President and CEO Toby Z. Rice spoke to Hart Energy on March 20 on the sidelines of CERAWeek by S&P Global to discuss natural gas infrastructure bottlenecks, energy security and the company’s advances on LNG.
Biden Administration Hits the Brake on New LNG Export Projects
2024-01-26 - As climate activists declare a win, the Department of Energy secretary says the pause is needed to update current policy.
CERAWeek: JERA CEO Touts Importance of US LNG Supply
2024-03-22 - JERA Co. Global CEO Yukio Kani said during CERAWeek by S&P Global that it was important to have a portfolio of diversified LNG supply sources, especially from the U.S.