Tag Archives: offshore platforms

Oil markets flat as restarts begin at storm-hit energy operations

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Energy companies on Friday continued efforts to restore operations at U.S. Gulf Coast offshore platforms and refineries shut by Hurricane Laura as oil markets largely shrugged off the storm’s impact.

Some 300 offshore production facilities and half-dozen refineries halted ahead of a Category 4 storm that hit the coast of Louisiana early Thursday with winds of 150 mile per hour (240 kph). The destructive winds cut a narrow path through the area, sparing facilities not directly in its path.

However, Citgo Petroleum’s 418,000-barrel per day Lake Charles, Louisiana, plant was on the storm’s path, and repairs could take four to six weeks, according to Mizuho Securities. The company did not reply to requests for comment.

Motiva Enterprises, operator of the largest U.S. refinery, and Valero Energy Corp on Friday began restarting their Port Arthur, Texas, refineries.

U.S. crude futures traded at $43.08 per barrel at midday, up four cents, up slightly from $42.34 a week ago. U.S. gasoline futures were up 2 cents, less than 2% higher than they were a week ago.

About 84%, or 1.56 million barrels per day, of U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude output and 60% of natural gas offshore production were shut on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Interior reported.

Exxon Mobil Corp said its 369,024 bpd Beaumont, Texas, refinery, about 50 miles (80 km) west of the storm’s landfall, required “minor repairs,” a spokesman said. The company was taking steps to restart once power and port operations were restored.

Cheniere Energy Inc’s and Cameron LNG’s Cameron liquefied natural gas plants in Louisiana took almost no pipeline gas early on Friday, according to preliminary data from Refinitiv.

“Refiners may be reluctant to quickly return to production when the product they make is a money losing proposition,” Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities, wrote on Friday.

The ports of Beaumont, Orange and Sabine, Texas, and Cameron and Lake Charles, Louisiana, remained closed on Friday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Houston, the United States’ largest energy export port, restarted operations on Thursday and had nearly halved the list of 53 vessels waiting on Thursday to reenter the port.

One-way movement and other restrictions were in place on Friday at points along the Houston Ship Channel, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)

U.S. energy firms tally hurricane damage, plot restarts as Laura races north

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. energy companies on Thursday were organizing crews and beginning to review offshore Gulf of Mexico platforms and assess damage to coastal operations as Hurricane Laura took its fierce winds inland.

The storm hit Louisiana early Thursday with 150 mile-per-hour (240 kph) winds, damaging buildings, knocking down trees and cutting power to more than 400,000 people in Louisiana and Texas. Its storm surge was less than predicted, sparing inland plants from feared flooding.

Laura passed over Lake Charles, Louisiana, and its oil refineries overnight and was moving quickly north toward Arkansas on Thursday.

Offshore operators were busy scheduling reconnaissance flights over the more than 300 offshore platforms and drilling rigs whose crews evacuated last week. Laura tore through the Gulf of Mexico’s prime oil production fields, with first assessments due Thursday for pipelines and platforms.

Exxon Mobil Corp said it was contacting employees of its 369,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) oil refinery and chemical plant in Beaumont, Texas, and preparing a preliminary tally of damages. The large plant was one of six plants along the Gulf Coast’s refinery row that shut this week ahead of the storm.

Even with no or little damage, refineries take days to resume production from a cold shut and the widespread power outages in the region and evacuations could slow the process further.

Utilities reported more than 650,000 customers in Texas and Louisiana were without power on Thursday and at least one reconnaissance flight was canceled because of travel disruptions.

Oil producers were preparing to fly over evacuated offshore platforms on Thursday. Some 1.5 million barrels of oil, and or 1.65 billion cubic feet of natural gas output were halted by well closures on Wednesday.

Companies have regularly scheduled crew changes beginning on Saturday and could take the first steps to resuming production this weekend if conditions allow, said Lani Moneyhon, manager of Bristow Group’s Galliano heliport. The company provides transport to offshore producers.

Energy firms typically fly over platforms looking for damage, and later conduct walk-throughs by safety experts before crews can return. It can take several days to run reviews and schedule crew returns.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba and Gary McWilliams; Editing by Marguerita Choy)