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The energy industry is assessing damage caused by storm surges and strong winds, when Hurricane Laura cut a dangerous path off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, causing attacks early Thursday.
Oil and gas producers evacuated platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and companies shut down refineries in the wake of the storm. More than 900,000 customers were without power in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas, according to the website PowerOutage.Us, which follows reports on utilities.
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“We are still waiting and hoping that the infrastructure in the communities in which we operate in Louisiana and far East Texas are not significantly affected by Hurricane Laura,” said Suzanne Lemieux, Operations Safety and Emergency Response Manager for American Petroleum. Institute, on a conference call with reporters.
In Texas, the Port Arthur Refinery, owned by Motiva Enterprises, leaked more than 200 pounds (90 kilograms) of volatile organic compounds, then shipped 100,000 pounds (45,000 kilograms) of it and other contaminants at its closure.
Emissions of this magnitude are typical at refinery silences. Volatile organic compounds can cause cancer, and “there is no safe level of exposure to them,” said Catherine Fraser, associate for Clean Air at Environment Texas.
HURRICANE REACHES LOUISIANA, TEXAS COASTS AS IN ‘EXTREMELY DANGEROUS’ CATEGORY 4 STORM
When chemicals are burned or released at refinery closures, “it just rains particles all over the community, over the houses, cars, people, whoever is outside at that particular time,” said Hilton Kelley, director of Community In-Power and Development Association in Port Arthur Texas.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL Corporation | 39.74 | -0.27 | -0.67% |
| VLO | VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION | 53.44 | -0.26 | -0.48% |
Also in Texas, teams began checking for potential damage at the Valero and Total refineries in Port Arthur and at ExxonMobil’s Beaumont chemical plant. In Louisiana, Citgo and Phillips proposed 66 teams to control their refineries in Lake Charles, and Gray Rock Resources said there was no damage or leakage to their facilities.
“At the moment, assessments are about to take place, or will take place, and we are still waiting for more information from our members,” said Jeff Gunnulfsen, senior director of U.S. fuel and petrochemical manufacturers, which represents refineries and petrochemicals. plants, on a conference call with reporters.
OIL, GAS PRICE SLIP AS HURRICANE LAURA LANDFALL MAKES
It can take days or weeks to rebuild a refinery. “You don’t just flip a switch,” Gunnulfsen said. “It is slow for each unit to work its way back to operational status.
All states except Louisiana report the availability of fuel and minimal closure of stations, and workers will thank stations as soon as they can, said Sherri Stone, vice president of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, which has 60,000 nationwide. gas stations represented.
“To reopen the stations, enough roads need to be cleared to get to the stations, electricity needs to be available and of course the staff and drivers need to be available,” Stone said.
The oil industry has been hammering since the beginning of the year, wrestling with low prices after the coronavirus degenerated demand. At the same time, OPEC was flooding the market, with the aim of – successfully – putting American oil producers out of business.
Oil prices have recovered somewhat, but are still well below what most producers need to stay in business. Benchmark U.S. crude sold Thursday for about $ 43 a barrel, while gasoline sold for about $ 2.23 a gallon, according to AAA. This year, consulting firms Haynes and Boone applied to 60 oil and gas companies for bankruptcy protection.
OIL INDUSTRY CLOSES PLATFORMS, RIGS, REFINERIES AS STORM HITS
The National Hurricane Center said the storm landed at 1 a.m. CDT Thursday near Cameron, a 400-person community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of the Texas border. It had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km / h), making it the most powerful hurricane to hit the US so far this year.
Experts say the U.S. is unlikely to suffer from major oil or gas shortages due to the hurricane, as other regions fill the gaps or turn to stored oil. But with high summer demand, there can be some disruption.
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“Inventories have tightened over the summer,” said Peter McNally, lead in the global sector at Third Bridge, an investment research firm. “There’s a buffer, but we still have a few weeks left in the summer of higher demand, so we could see the surplus pretty quickly.”
