US offshore oil industry reawakens after Francine shut-ins (updated)

Westlake

13/09/2024 18:40

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      New Orleans, LOOP agricultural and oil export ports reopen
    

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      A dozen liquefied natural gas tankers queue offshore 
    

  
 (Rewrites with industry impacts, adds vessel details in
paragraphs 5-8)
    By Marianna Parraga and Georgina McCartney
       HOUSTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Gulf of Mexico energy
firms on Friday were lumbering back from hurricane disruptions
as offshore oil and gas producers  ramped up operations after
halving the key energy region's output, ports reopened, and
onshore terminals accepted oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG)
tankers.
     Hurricane Francine shut in up to 42% of the region's
offshore oil and 53% of its natural gas production. The storm 
missed Texas and came ashore in Louisiana late on Tuesday,
causing flooding and power problems that affected onshore
terminals and ports that withstood 100 mph (161 kph) winds. 
    The port of New Orleans, an important agricultural and
metals export port, and the deepwater Louisiana Offshore Oil
Port (LOOP) were back in service without restrictions on Friday,
the U.S. Coast Guard reported.
    Refineries that account for 20% of U.S. Gulf Coast motor
fuel production were returning to normal operations after some
curbed output as the hurricane passed through Louisiana.  
    Two LNG vessels were at the Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana,
anchorage waiting to load, part of a group of at least a dozen
LNG tankers waiting outside Gulf Coast LNG terminals as
navigation channels reopened. 
    
    SHELL RAMPING UP 
    Shell  SHEL.L  on Friday was ramping up oil production at
five offshore platforms while four others remained offline due
to pipeline disruptions. Chevron  CVX.N  returned staff to three
offshore platforms on Thursday and was restarting operations. 
    Exxon Mobil  XOM.N , which operates the Hoover offshore oil
platform, did not reply to request for comment. It is part of
the 153-mile (246-km) Hoover Offshore Oil Pipeline System that
serves multiple oil fields closed during the storm. 
    Texas and Louisiana ports, including Texas City and Lake
Charles, that reopened earlier this week were on Friday
servicing tankers, according to vessel monitoring data by LSEG.
    Post-tropical Francine has been moving northwest to the
Mississippi River since Thursday night, hitting portions of the
Mississippi Delta, Alabama, western Georgia and the Florida
panhandle with heavy rainfall, the U.S. National Hurricane
Center said.
    The risk of flooding is expected to continue across the
Tennessee Valley through Saturday. 
    Hong Kong-flagged fuel tanker SC Draco, Marshall
Islands-flagged Owl 1 and Singapore-flagged Solar Claire and
Hafnia Tiger were docked on Friday at terminals operated by
Citgo Petroleum  PDVSAC.UL  and Westlake Chemical  WLKP.N  in
Lake Charles on Friday, according to LSEG ship monitoring data. 
    Lake Charles, Texas City and other U.S. Gulf ports service
many refiners in the area for receiving crude imports and
handling fuel exports.
    Meanwhile, French-flagged LNG Endeavour was arriving at the
Cameron LNG terminal in Louisiana on Friday to load.  
 

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US Gulf Coast energy facilities hit by Hurricane Francine   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3KU0RJ
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 (Reporting by Marianna Parraga and Georgina McCartney
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
 ((marianna.parraga@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713 371 7559; Reuters
Messaging: @mariannaparraga))