US Gulf oil, natgas output begins to recover after Ida

Janet Miranda

07-Sep-2021

HOUSTON (ICIS)–More than a week after Hurricane Ida made landfall, 79% of offshore oil production and nearly 78% of natural gas production in the US Gulf remains offline, according to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

The percentage of shut in production has been reduced by 14 and 11 percentage points for offshore oil and natural gas respectively from 3 September, when 93% of oil production and 89% of natural gas production was offline in the US Gulf.

The following table shows the number of platforms and rigs evacuated, including the total of oil and natural gas that has been shut in.

Total %
Platforms evacuated 79 14.11
Rigs evacuated 4 36.36
Oil shut in (bbl/day) 1,443,800 79.33
Gas shut in (bcf/day) 1.736 77.89

Source: BSEE

Key ports such as Port Fourchon in Louisiana were damaged by Ida. The port is a main site for offshore workers.

As of 4 September, the US Coast Guard is allowing conditional access to Port Fourchon waterways, including Belle Pass with restrictions for daylight operations only.

Currently, vessels in ports can manoeuvre in port waterways. Navigation through the main channel is down to one lane only.

The port will be fully reopened when channel surveys have been completed and obstructions from debris have been removed.

Shell said on Tuesday that it is beginning to deploy employees to its Auger and Enchilada/Salsa assets.

Its Perdido asset in the southwestern Gulf was never disrupted and continues to be online, along with its storage and offloading vessel, the Turritella.

At its West Delta 143 offshore facility, damage assessments continue, Shell said.

Shell has also re-staffed its Pipeline’s Ship Shoal 28 asset and are now working to finalise assessment of the platform and pipelines. A stand-up test will be conducted prior to restart of the pipeline.

Platform start up will remain dependent on the availability of downstream infrastructure including pipelines and delivery locations, the company said.

BP has conducted a visual assessment of its four Gulf of Mexico platforms, and reported no major damage, the company said on Thursday.

Production will remain shut in until further confirmation that it is safe for operations to resume.

Its onshore assets at Houma and Port Fourchon experienced the brunt of the storm’s force with damage to both facilities that will require repairs. BP will temporarily relocate its shore base and heliport to other locations.

BP’s midstream and downstream assets are in various stages of start-up and await facility inspections and power restoration.

Chevron has begun to deploy personnel to provide closer assessments of possible damage to any of its assets, the company said on Wednesday.

Fourchon terminal and Empire terminal and their related pipeline systems remain shut in, Chevron said.

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

Company Site Products Status Force Majeure
AmSty St James, Louisiana Styrene Shutdown
BASF Geismar, Louisiana BDO, EO, isocyanates, polyols Shutdown
Cornerstone Waggaman, Louisiana ACN, melamine Shutdown Declares FM
Cos-Mar Carville, Louisiana Styrene, ethylbenzene Shutdown
DAK Americas Bay St Louis, Mississippi PET Shutdown Declares FM
Dow Plaquemine, Louisiana Ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, EO, glycol ethers, PE, PG, PO Expected Restart
Dow Taft, Louisiana Ethylene, propylene, acetic acid, acrylic acid, acrylic acid esters, ethanolamines, EO, glycol ethers, LLDPE, oxo-alcohols Shutdown
Dow Taft, Louisiana 2-EHA Shutdown Declares FM
Enterprise Products Louisiana, US Propylene, NGLs Shutdown
ExxonMobil Baton Rouge, Louisiana Ethylene, propylene, BD, benzene, toluene, IPA, PA, plasticizers, PE, PP, base oils Restart
Formosa Plastics Baton Rouge, Louisiana PVC, VCM Shutdown
INEOS Oxide Plaquemine, Louisiana Ethanolamines Shutdown Declares FM
Lion Copolymer Geismar, Louisiana EDPM Restart
Marathon Petroleum Garyville, Louisiana Gasoline, propylene, refined products Shutdown
Methanex Geismar, Louisiana Methanol Shutdown
NOVA Geismar, Louisiana Ethylene, propylene Shutdown Declares FM
Olin Freeport, Texas VCM Shutdown Declares FM
Olin Plaquemine, Louisiana Caustic soda, chlorine Shutdown
Olin St Gabriel, Louisiana Caustic soda, chlorine Shutdown
OxyChem Convent, Louisiana Caustic soda, chlorine Shutdown Declares FM
OxyChem Geismar, Louisiana Caustic soda, chlorine, EDC Shutdown Declares FM
OxyChem Taft, Louisiana Caustic soda, chlorine Shutdown Declares FM
PBF Energy Chalmette, Louisiana Benzene, toluene, MX, propylene Shutdown
Phillips 66 Belle Chasse, Louisiana Benzene, toluene, MX, propylene Shutdown
Pinnacle Polymers Garyville, Louisiana PP Shutdown Declares FM
Roehm Fortier, Louisiana Methyl methacrylate (MMA) Shutdown
Rubicon Geismar, Louisiana MDI, polyether polyols, aniline, nitrobenzene Shutdown
Shell Geismar, Louisiana EO, EG, glycol ethers, linear alcohols, linear olefins Shutdown
Shell Norco, Louisiana Ethylene, propylene, BD Shutdown
Shintech Addis, Louisiana PVC Shutdown
Shintech Freeport, Texas PVC Shutdown
Shintech Plaquemine, Louisiana Caustic soda, chlorine, EDC, PVC, VCM, ethylene Shutdown
Total Energies Carville, Louisiana PS Shutdown
Valero Meraux, Louisiana Gasoline, refined products, propylene Shutdown
Valero St Charles, Louisiana Gasoline, refined products, propylene Shutdown
Westlake Geismar, Louisiana Caustic soda, chlorine, EDC Shutdown Declares FM
Westlake Plaquemine, Louisiana Caustic soda, chlorine, EDC, PVC, VCM Shutdown Declares FM
YCI Methanol One St James, Louisiana Methanol Shutdown

POWER RESTORATION
Power has been restored to 60% of the 948,000 customers who lost service after Hurricane Ida made landfall on 29 August, regional power distributor Entergy said on Tuesday.

Of the 226 affected transmission substations, 188 have returned to service as of the afternoon of 6 September, as well as 151 of 211 affected transmission lines.

About 700 miles of transmission lines remain out of service, Entergy said.

Distribution system damage in Louisiana and Mississippi included 30,679 poles, 36,469 spans of wire and 5,959 transformers damaged or destroyed.

The number of poles damaged or destroyed is more than hurricanes Katrina, Ike, Delta and Zeta combined.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER, PORTS OPEN
The US Coast Guard open the lower Mississippi river to all vessel traffic in New Orleans and key ports throughout southeast Louisiana late on Friday.

The opening required the removal of several downed power lines that were obstructing the waterway.

The Coast Guard continues to work with its partners to reconstitute ports and waterways throughout Southeast Louisiana to pre-storm capacity in Port Fourchon, Bayou Lafourche, Houma Navigation Canal, and key points along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) has resumed receipt and delivery of crude to regional refineries.

The Loop 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.

RAIL UPDATE
Norfolk Southern reopened its NS New Orleans intermodal facility on Monday, the rail company announced. The embargo at its Croxton and Erail facility have been lifted.

Ingates for local and interline shipments originating at or destined to its Erail facility have reopened. Local ingates originated or destined to its Croxton facility remained closed.

Outgates in its northeast facilities are currently open. Some rail lines in the north region of New Jersey have been impacted by slow orders and signal delays. Customers in the Northeast should expect 24-48 hour delays.

Union Pacific (UP) has resumed operations from St James to New Orleans, although generators remain in place for signal and gate operations until commercial power is restored, the rail company said on Friday.

Interchange with Norfolk Southern resumed on Thursday, although it was limited to daylight hours only due to the city-mandated curfew. Interchange with all other carriers in New Orleans remained embargoed.

CSX has also seen the impacts of the storm in the northeast, with disruptions in operations in portions Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Customers are advised to expect delays, it said on Thursday.

It is also continuing repair work on track and signals on the New Orleans and Mobile line.

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

On Thursday, Kansas City Southern (KCS) announced it had resumed operations on the New Orleans subdivision.

Additional reporting by Adam Yanelli

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