Energy export severely disrupted by Hurricane Laura, 1 bpd reduction likely

Laura made landfall early Thursday near the Texas-Louisiana border, one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the region, and raced north

NEW YORK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil and gas exports from the United States have been severely disrupted by Hurricane Laura, with nearly a million barrels per day (bpd) of crude exports likely reduced this week by closures of U.S. Gulf Coast terminals and disruptions at ports. The hurricane also temporarily suspended operations at several liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in the world’s third largest exporter of the super-cooled gas, with shipments on track to fall to their lowest in 18 months.

Laura made landfall early Thursday near the Texas-Louisiana border, one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the region, and raced north. Ports of Lake Charles, Beaumont and Port Arthur remained closed on Thursday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Port of Houston, which is the top U.S. crude oil export hub accounting for about 600,000 bpd of shipments, closed on Wednesday and was in the process of reopening to commercial shipping late Thursday, according to the Coast Guard.

Some 50 vessels, most of them tankers, were at anchorage offshore and waiting to re-enter the Houston Shipping Channel, said JJ Plunkett, port agent for the Houston Pilots Association, which guides vessels in and out of the ship channel. The closures of Houston Port, Beaumont and Port Arthur were expected to reduce seaborne crude export capacity by nearly 1 million bpd, data intelligence firm Kpler estimated, based on average figures over the past four months…Read More