NGL pipeline burning in La Porte, Texas: Update
A natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline operated by Energy Transfer Partners caught fire in La Porte, Texas, this morning, sending a bright orange plume of flame hundreds of feet into the air and leading to evacuations of nearby homes and businesses.
The fire started at a valve station for a 20-inch NGL line, Energy Transfer said, located in a right-of-way shared with a number of other pipelines and high voltage power lines about 17 miles southeast of downtown Houston.
Energy Transfer said the line has been isolated so that the residual product in the line can safely burn itself out.
"We have no timeline at this point on how long that process will take, but we are working closely with local authorities," the company said. In a broadcast press conference today La Porte officials said it would likely be many hours until the fire burns out.
Energy Transfer said it was aware of reports indicating that an unknown passenger car entered the right-of-way and struck the valve location. A vehicle could be seen very close to the flaring pipeline in video broadcasts of the fire this morning.
The fire was first reported at 11:24am ET by the La Porte Office of Emergency Management via the X social media platform. The fire is near the intersection of Somerton Drive and Spencer Highway. First responders, including Harris County hazardous materials officials, were on the scene at the time of the post.
The right-of-way includes a refined products pipeline system, various petrochemical pipelines, a Shell butadiene line, a Chevron ethylene line and an Enbridge Energy natural gas pipeline. Chevron said its pipeline was not affected by the fire.
A shelter-in-place order has been issued for the nearby San Jacinto College campus and La Porte is recommending an evacuation of all homes and businesses between Luella and Canada roads.
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Pipeline fire reported in La Porte, Texas
Pipeline fire reported in La Porte, Texas
Houston, 16 September (Argus) — A pipeline fire is underway in La Porte, Texas, near a junction of several refined products, NGLs, chemicals, and natural gas pipelines. The fire, which was first reported at 11:24am ET by the La Porte Office of Emergency Management via the X social media platform is near the intersection of Somerton Drive and Spencer Highway, near a dense collection of pipelines. First responders, including Harris County hazardous materials officials, were on the scene at the time of the post. Large orange flames coming from a compressor station were visible on local news broadcasts and on social media. The source of the fire is not immediately clear. The right of way includes a refined products pipeline system, various petrochemicals pipelines, a Shell butadiene line, a Chevron ethylene line, as well as an Energy Transfer-owned natural gas liquids (NGLs) line and an Enbridge Energy natural gas pipeline. The city of La Porte was not immediately available for comment. A shelter in place order has been issued for the nearby San Jacinto College campus and La Porte is recomending an evacuation between Luella and Canada roads. By Gordon Pollock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Energy firms on alert after flooding in Europe: Update
Energy firms on alert after flooding in Europe: Update
Adds details throughout Warsaw, 16 September (Argus) — Torrential rain has led to major flooding across large swathes of central and eastern Europe, causing power outages and significant damage to transport infrastructure in southwest Poland and the Czech Republic. Parts of Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania are also affected. In Poland, most of the affected areas so far are in the southwest of the country close to the border with the Czech Republic including the towns of Jelenia Gora, Klodzko, Nysa and Glucholazy. Urban areas further down the Odra river are also at risk including the cities of Wroclaw and Opole, where elevated water levels are expected in the coming days. The Polish government held an emergency meeting earlier today and a state of emergency has since been declared in the affected areas. Polish utility company Tauron, which operates the electricity distribution network in the worst affected area, said some of its infrastructure was disconnected in several towns including Klodzko and Glucholazy. But Poland's power grid operator PSE said there has been no damage to transmission infrastructure. Likewise, Polish gas pipeline operator Gaz-System said it has not suffered any damage but remains in crisis mode. Polish train operator PKP Intercity suspended passenger rail traffic to and from the Czech Republic on 15 September until further notice, while local TV showed images of damaged road and waterways infrastructure, including bridges and dams as well as retail fuel stations. Poland's wholesale coal market, which is usually busy in the autumn, could stall in flood-hit areas for a few weeks as priority is given to the clean-up operation and repairing transport infrastructure, according to traders in the country. But Polish biofuel firm Bioagra, which operates a bioethanol plant near the flood-hit town of Nysa, told Argus that the facility continues to operate normally. In the Czech Republic, Orlen Unipetrol — operator of 108,000 b/d Litvinov and 66,000 b/d Kralupy refineries — said all its production sites continue to operate although the company has shut 11 of its service stations in the country. The firm said its crisis management team at each production site is monitoring the situation and it is in contact with authorities. Elsewhere in the Czech Republic, utility Veolia has had to shut plants in Ostrava and Krnov. Hungarian oil firm Mol — which operates service stations in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as refineries in Hungary and Slovakia — told Argus that preparatory flood prevention works are underway. It is in contact with authorities and there is currently no threat to security of fuel supply, it said. Hungarian authorities expect water levels on the river Danube at Budapest to continue rising until the weekend, which could affect Veolia's 428MW gas-fired power plant at Gonyu upstream from the capital and potentially power firm MVM's 2GW Paks nuclear plant downstream from Budapest. Floods on smaller rivers Lajta and Raba in northwest Hungary are also yet to peak. Austrian refiner OMV said it has put in place precautionary safety and mitigation measures at its 193,700 b/d Schwechat refinery and two other sites at Gansendorf and Lobau in the federal state of Lower Austria, which was declared a disaster region on 15 September. No damage to property or people has been reported so far but OMV has closed four retail stations temporarily in the state as a precaution, it said. By Tomasz Stepien and Bela Fincziczki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
German heating oil demand rises as winter nears
German heating oil demand rises as winter nears
Hamburg, 16 September (Argus) — Demand for heating oil in Germany rose in the past week, as consumers build stocks in preparation for autumn and winter. Traders reported a rise in demand as temperatures dropped suddenly and prices were at the lowest since May 2023. Traded spot volumes for heating oil only increased by 3pc on the week, although this does not yet take into account volumes already planned for the coming weeks. Many traders' logistics are fully booked until the beginning of November. As a result, heating oil is being sold at higher prices and for longer loading periods in wholesale. After experiencing temperatures above 30°C the previous week, many places saw temperatures drop to around 15°C last week, with the Alps region experiencing snowfall. This sudden onset of autumn led to increased inquiries for heating oil. Low prices fuelled demand as well. Average national heating oil prices dropped by nearly €3.20/100l, making them the lowest since mid-May 2023 and slightly above prices in December 2021, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These low prices are primarily because of declining Ice gasoil futures and sufficient domestic supply. Shell's 187,000 b/d Godorf refinery, parts of TotalEnergies' 240,000 b/d Leuna refinery and the Scholven section of BP's 257,000 b/d Gelsenkirchen refinery are offline for maintenance or revisions, but sufficient stocks were accumulated earlier to meet current moderate demand, traders said. By Johannes Guhlke Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Shale sector consolidation far from over
Shale sector consolidation far from over
New York, 16 September (Argus) — After a blockbuster year for US oil and gas deals, the pace of acquisitions is unlikely to ease as assets in basins outside the Permian increasingly catch the eye of potential suitors. A slight pause is expected around the presidential elections in November, before transactions — which have surpassed $100bn so far in 2024 — pick up through to the end of the year and into 2025, both in terms of takeovers and recent acquirers looking to dispose of assets that no longer compete for capital in their combined portfolios. The initial rush of deal-making in the Permian basin of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, which kicked off in late 2023, has now spread to other regions across the shale patch. "What's driving that is really operators are focused on consolidating operations in the areas that they're already operating in," consulting firm Ernst & Young's strategy and transactions energy partner, Bruce On, says. The opportunities to make savings by leveraging and sharing logistical networks, supply chains, technology and experience around drilling and well completions have been key drivers as capital discipline remains the sector's guiding light. While the Permian was the focal point of deal-making in the second half of 2023 — with transactions in excess of $89bn and accounting for 92pc of total deal-making — that is no longer the case, according to consultancy Rystad Energy. The Permian's share of overall mergers and acquisitions (M&A) fell to 46pc in the first half of 2024 and was about 18pc in the second half, as of the end of August, Rystad says. "This declining share is attributed to the limited remaining opportunities in the basin, which has also resulted in tougher competition among potential buyers and premium valuations," Rystad vice-president for upstream Atul Raina says. The shift has seen other basins come to the fore, such as North Dakota's Bakken, Pennsylvania's Marcellus and South Texas' Eagle Ford. The share of deal value in the Bakken rose to 12pc of all M&A transactions in the first half of 2024, from virtually nothing in the second half of 2023, Rystad says. The Marcellus accounted for 14pc of deal-making and Eagle Ford 13pc, over the same period. Permian envy Examples of buyers looking further afield include US independent SM Energy, which bought assets in Utah's Uinta basin from private equity-backed XCL Resources for $2bn. "We'd love to add that kind of asset in the Permian," SM Energy chief financial officer Wade Purcell says. "Getting something of size anywhere near that price, that's really hard right now." As part of the latest acquisition spree, recent buyers are looking to see how their combined asset base fits and what they want to offload. "They're quickly looking to go to market with those non-core assets, so we expect to see this cycle that will accelerate additional M&A activity in the sector," Ernst & Young's On says. Just this week, US independent producer APA announced the sale of non-core Permian assets to an undisclosed buyer for $950mn. That built on the company's sale of other Permian and Eagle Ford assets for a combined $700mn earlier this year. "Through multiple transactions completed this year, we have high-graded and focused our US asset base," chief executive John Christmann says. The proceeds will go towards paying down debt taken on as part of APA's $4.5bn all-stock takeover of Permian-focused Callon Petroleum at the start of the year. More than $46bn worth of upstream assets remain on the market in the US, with shale accounting for 80pc of the total, according to Rystad. Private equity-backed operators are likely to keep selling off assets to take advantage of rising demand from public peers to add inventory and build scale. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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