The oil and gas industry, still reeling from Hurricane Ida two weeks ago, is bracing for more disruption as Tropical Storm Nicholas barrels toward the Texas coast.
Nicholas, forecast to dump as much as two feet of rain on the Houston area, is expected to make landfall Monday evening as a possible Category 1 hurricane. The storm threatens to bring flash flooding and storm surge to the nation’s largest concentration of oil and gas refineries and petrochemical plants.
“The threat of more disruptions from extreme weather is also a cause of concern for producers and a reason for traders to add price premiums,” said Nishant Bhushan, Rystad Energy’s Oil Markets Analyst. “Nicholas could impact loadings at the ports and also refineries, and turn last week’s rising number of working rigs around again.”
Analysis: What Hurricane Ida means for oil and gas industry
Nicholas comes as the oil and gas industry is still recovering from Ida, which damaged oil and gas facilities, left several petrochemical plants without power and forced oil producers to evacuate and shut down offshore platforms. About half of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production is offline more than two weeks after Ida made landfall in Louisiana, according to the Interior Department.
The latest tropical storm could further disrupt the industry and delay recovery efforts from Ida, analysts said.
Rystad, a Norwegian energy research firm, estimates that U.S. Gulf oil production could fall by as much as 500,000 barrels a day in September as a result. More production could fall in Nicholas' wake, Bhushan said.
Royal Dutch Shell on Monday said it evacuated some non-essential workers from its Perdido offshore platform. The Netherlands-based oil giant last week said it might not meet its contractual obligations to deliver oil and gas from the Gulf of Mexico because of damage sustained at its West Delta-143 offshore facilities.
Sixty-three oil platforms representing 11 percent of the 560 platforms operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico remain evacuated as of Sunday. One of 11 stationary drilling rigs in the Gulf remains offline, and two of the 15 mobile drilling rigs are still moved off location, according to the Interior Department.
“Hurricane Ida’s impact is lasting more than the market expected and as some oil production capacity remains shut this week,” Bhushan said. “Although (the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s) latest update on Hurricane Ida on Sunday showed U.S. Gulf of Mexico production had recovered about 320,000 barrels per day compared to Friday’s reporting, this could soon be turned around if Nicholas turns into a hurricane.”
Storm Impacts
Nicholas' impact will extend beyond oil and gas production, likely disrupting shipping, refining and petrochemical manufacturing.
The Port of Houston, one of the nation's busiest shipping ports, on Monday said its container terminals will stop ingress operations at 3 p.m. and remain closed through Tuesday morning.
The Port of Corpus Christi and Port Freeport closed to inbound traffic at 11 a.m. Central Monday due to the possibility of hurricane-force winds within 24 hours, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said Texas refineries could see a “deluge of water” from rain and storm surge that could increase gasoline prices. Average gasoline prices in Houston rose less than a penny a gallon over the past week to an average $2.72, down 6 cents from a month ago, but 91 cents a gallon higher than a year ago, according to the fuel price tracking website.
“With Tropical Storm Nicholas threatening another key area of refineries in Houston with significant rain, we could see the decline in prices hit the pause button,” De Haan said. “As gasoline demand has now fallen for four straight weeks, there is more breathing room even if some capacity does temporarily go offline. It's too early to tell, clearly, but motorists should be aware."
Cheniere, Cameron LNG, Freeport LNG, Kinder Morgan, Phillips 66, Citgo, LyondellBasell and Motiva Enterprises said they are monitoring Nicholas closely and are preparing to activate hurricane plans in case the storm grows stronger.
LyondellBasell said it is testing power generators and communications systems, moving and anchoring equipment that could become projectiles in high winds and is placing sandbags around control rooms and substations and removing debris from ditches and tank berms. Westlake said it asked employees to follow guidance from local officials and advised workers who have to travel in the next few days do so safely.
"industry" - Google News
September 13, 2021 at 11:41PM
https://ift.tt/3nvtPLo
Update: Oil industry braces for more disruption as Tropical Storm Nicholas barrels toward Texas - Houston Chronicle
"industry" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2RrQtUH
https://ift.tt/2zJ3SAW
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Update: Oil industry braces for more disruption as Tropical Storm Nicholas barrels toward Texas - Houston Chronicle"
Post a Comment