Power restoration work ongoing in Louisiana after damage from Ida

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Work continues in Louisiana to repair the power infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Ida, which made landfall on Sunday as a powerful category 4 storm.

Regional power distributor Entergy said on Thursday that it has restored power to 167,000 customers and continues to work in areas that are safe and where power can be received.

The company again stressed that those in the hardest-hit areas could experience outages for weeks.

Source: Entergy

Poweroutage.us is showing just more than 900,000 customers without power in the state, which likely includes electrical service from other power distributors.

Damage assessments are continuing at refineries and chemical plants in the region, but operations cannot restart until feedstock supply, power, and other essential third-party utilities are restored.

While the impact will be much less severe than from winter storm Uri in mid-February, the power outages and flooding will constrain production for weeks.

Products most impacted include the chlor-alkali chain all the way through polyvinyl chloride (PVC), methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), styrene, linear alpha olefins (LAO), phthalic anhydride (PA) and butanediol (BDO).

PLANT STATUS
The following shows the status of the chemical plants and refineries affected by Ida.

Company	Site	Products	Status
BASF	Geismar, Louisiana	BDO, EO, MDI, TDI, polyols	Shutdown
Lion Copolymer	Geismar, Louisiana	ethylene propylene diene monomer (EDPM)	Shutdown
Dow	Taft, Louisiana	Olefins, acetic acid, acrylic acid, acrylic acid esters, ethanolamines, EO, glycol ethers, LLDPE, oxo-alcohols	Shutdown
Dow	Plaquemine, Louisiana	Olefins, aromatics, EO, glycol ethers, LDPE, LLDPE, PG, PO	Shutdown
Total Energies	Carville, Louisiana	Polystyrene (PS)	Shutdown
Roehm	Fortier, Louisiana	Methyl methacrylate (MMA)	Shutdown
OxyChem	Convent, Louisiana	Caustic soda, chlorine, ethylene dichloride (EDC)	FM
OxyChem	Taft, Louisiana	Caustic soda, chlorine, ethylene dichloride (EDC)	FM
Shell	Geismar, Louisiana	Linear olefins, ethylene glycols (EG), ethylene oxide (EO), glycol ethers, linear alcohols	Curtailment
PBF Energy	Chalmette, Louisiana	Benzene, Toluene, Mixed Xylenes (MX)	Shutdown
Methanex	Geismar, Louisiana	Methanol	Shutdown
ExxonMobil	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Ethylene, propylene, butadiene (BD), benzene, toluene, isopropanol (IPA), phthalic anhydride (PA), plasticizers, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), base oils	Restart
Enterprise Products	Louisiana, US	Propylene, natural gas liquids (NGLs)	Shutdown
DAK Americas	Bay St Louis, Mississippi	polyethylene terephthalate (PET)	FM
Cos-Mar	Carville, Louisiana	Styrene, ethylbenzene	Shutdown
AmSty	St James, Louisiana	Styrene	Shutdown
Valero	Meraux, Louisiana	Gasoline, refined products, propylene, propylene upgrade	Shutdown
Valero	St Charles, Louisiana	Gasoline, refined products, propylene, propylene upgrade	Shutdown
Shintech	Addis, Louisiana	Ethylene, chlorine, caustic soda, EDC, VCM, PVC	Shutdown
Shintech	Plaquemine, Louisiana	Ethylene, chlorine, caustic soda, EDC, VCM, PVC	Shutdown
Rubicon	Geismar, Louisiana	MDI, polyether polyols, aniline, nitrobenzene	Shutdown
Pinnacle Polymers	Garyville, Louisiana	PP	FM
Phillips 66	Belle Chasse, Louisiana	Refined products, aromatics, propylene	Shutdown
Olin	Plaquemine, Louisiana	Caustic soda, chlorine	Shutdown
Olin	St Gabriel, Louisiana	Caustic soda, chlorine	Shutdown
NOVA	Geismar, Louisiana	Ethylene, propylene	Shutdown
Marathon Petroleum	Garyville, Louisiana	Gasoline, refined products	Shutdown
ExxonMobil	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Gasoline, refinery grade propylene (RGP), benzene, toluene	Shutdown
Dow	Taft, Louisiana	Oxo-alcohols (Isobutanol, n-Butanol)	Shutdown
Cornerstone	Waggaman, Louisiana	ACN, melamine	FM
Westlake	Geismar, Louisiana	Caustic soda, EDC, PVC, VCM	Shutdown
Westlake	Plaquemine, Louisiana	Caustic soda, EDC, PVC, VCM	Shutdown
Formosa Plastics	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	PVC, VCM	Shutdown
ExxonMobil	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Olefins, aromatics, IPA, polyolefins, base oils	Shutdown
Dow	Taft, Louisiana	Olefins, acetic acid, acrylic acid, acrylic acid esters, ethanolamines, EO, glycol ethers, LLDPE, oxo-alcohols	Shutdown
Dow	Plaquemine, Louisiana	Olefins, aromatics, EO, glycol ethers, LDPE, LLDPE, PG, PO	Shutdown
BASF	Geismar, Louisiana	BDO, EO, MDI, TDI, polyols	Shutdown
Shell	Norco, Louisiana	Olefins	Shutdown
Shell	Geismar, Louisiana	LAO, EG, EO, linear alcohols, glycol ethers	Shutdown
Phillips 66	Belle Chasse, Louisiana	Refined products, aromatics, propylene	Shutdown
Cornerstone	Waggaman, Louisiana	ACN, melamine	Shutdown

RAIL UPDATE
Rail operations at the Port of New Orleans have resumed with modified daytime hours of operation to connect with BNSF, Norfolk Southern (NS) and Union Pacific (UP).

BNSF has reopened nearly all of its main line between Lafayette, Louisiana, and New Orleans, the US railroad company said on Wednesday.

UP said on Wednesday that its rail line between St James, Louisiana, and New Orleans remains closed, making it one of three lines in the state that are out of service because of Hurricane Ida.

It expected the line to open by Thursday, but the company did not respond to requests for confirmation prior to publication.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER REOPENS
The US Coast Guard has reopened the lower Mississippi river to nearly all vessel traffic, although some key areas along the river remain closed as recovery operations continue.

Some chemicals shipped by barge on the Mississippi river are still likely to be delayed following damage caused by Hurricane Ida.

Coast Guard crews continue to work with port partners on the identification and mitigation of grounded and submerged vessels along the banks of the river.

PORTS REOPENING
The Port of New Orleans reopened on Wednesday afternoon and port condition has been set at normal, but restrictions remain for some terminal operations. Vessel movement and cargo operations are authorised with restrictions.

The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal remains closed.

Terminal operators continue restoration efforts to resume operations, which is dependent upon power restoration.

New Orleans Terminal and Ports America for containerised operations will remain closed until more information is known, and dependent upon power restoration.

Empire, Coastal Cargo, Gulf Stream Marine and Ports America for breakbulk operations will be closed until more information is known, and dependent upon power restoration.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) has paused deliveries of crude until Hurricane Ida subsides.

LOOP is working directly with shippers to minimise storm related impacts.

Facility assessments and repairs are underway.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port is the nation’s only deepwater oil port for supertankers. Some 50% of the nation’s refining capacity can be supplied by LOOP, which moves 12% of the nation’s annual crude oil imports.

Additional reporting by Joseph Chang, Janet Miranda, Al Greenwood

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