The U.S. Coast Guard said on Oct. 19 that a large semisubmersible rig drifted into and ran aground in the Sabine Bank Channel, limiting vessels entering the Sabine-Neches Waterway to those with a maximum draft of 32 ft (9.8 m).
The waterway sits on the Texas-Louisiana border and connects the Gulf of Mexico to Cheniere Energy Inc.'s Sabine Pass LNG export plant and to oil refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas.
That area is west of where two hurricanes struck in recent weeks. Nearby refineries are owned by Exxon Mobil Corp., Valero Energy Corp., Total SA, and others.
The semisubmersible rig, called the Jasminia, drifted into the Sabine Bank Channel and ran aground on Oct. 16, a Coast Guard spokesman said. The rig had housed offshore workers in the past. The owner's identity was not immediately available.
"The owner has initiated response efforts. Personnel are on board the rig. Salvage plans are being developed," the spokesman said.
Two LNG tankers were docked at the Sabine Pass LNG plant, according to data from Refinitiv. One tanker, the Flex Resolute, arrived the night of Oct. 16, and was drafting about 30 ft (9 m) when it arrived.
The Coast Guard could not say whether Jasminia would prevent Flex Resolute or the second tanker, Palu LNG, from exiting the channel. Palu LNG arrived on Oct. 15 and was drafting around 32 ft before picking up a cargo, according to Refinitiv data.
The Coast Guard could not say when the Jasminia will be removed.
Cheniere's Sabine Pass plant is the biggest in the U.S. with a capacity of 3.5 Bcf/d of natural gas. The plant was pulling in about 2.6 Bcf/d of feedgas on Oct. 19.
One billion cubic feet is enough gas to supply about 5 million U.S. homes for a day.
Recommended Reading
Marathon Chasing 20%+ IRRs with Los Angeles, Galveston Refinery Upgrades
2024-02-01 - Marathon Petroleum Corp. is pursuing improvements at its Los Angeles refinery and a hydrotreater project at its Galveston Bay refinery that are each boasting internal rate returns (IRRs) of 20% or more.
Shell’s CEO Sawan Says Confidence in US LNG is Slipping
2024-02-05 - Issues related to Venture Global LNG’s contract commitments and U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent decision to pause approvals of new U.S. liquefaction plants have raised questions about the reliability of the American LNG sector, according to Shell CEO Wael Sawan.
NGL Growth Leads Enterprise Product Partners to Strong Fourth Quarter
2024-02-02 - Enterprise Product Partners executives are still waiting to receive final federal approval to go ahead with the company’s Sea Port Terminal Project.
After Megamerger, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Rail Ends 2023 on High
2024-02-02 - After the historic merger of two railways in April, revenues reached CA$3.8B for fourth-quarter 2023.
Enbridge Advances Expansion of Permian’s Gray Oak Pipeline
2024-02-13 - In its fourth-quarter earnings call, Enbridge also said the Mainline pipeline system tolling agreement is awaiting regulatory approval from a Canadian regulatory agency.