Francine set for Wednesday landfall as hurricane
Tropical storm Francine is expected to become a hurricane today, as it continues on a path north through offshore US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production areas on its way to a Louisiana landfall Wednesday.
Francine was located about 395 miles south-south west of Cameron, Louisiana, according to an 8am ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center. It is expected to remain off the coast of Texas and intensify to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of up to 100 mph, before landfall.
The storm will track through an offshore region that accounts for about 15pc of US crude output and 5pc of US natural gas production. Oil and gas producers started to evacuate personnel from offshore facilities earlier this week and shut in some production. Ports are starting to restrict traffic and offshore lightering operations were paused off of Galveston, Texas, starting Monday night due to high seas.
Shell said late Monday it was in the process of shutting in production at its Perdido platform after earlier pausing drilling operations from the facility located about 190 miles south of Houston. Drilling has also been suspended at its Whale facility, which is not scheduled to start operations until later this year. Non-essential personnel have been evacuated from Shell's Enchilada/Salsa and Auger assets, located about 120 miles south of Vermillion Bay, Louisiana.
Chevron initiated shut-in procedures for its Anchor and Tahiti platforms 190 miles south of New Orleans and began transporting all personnel from the facilities. Production from its other operated platforms in the Gulf of Mexico remained at normal levels. Non-essential staff were also being removed from the Big Foot and Jack/St. Malo platforms.
ExxonMobil said all staff had been transported off the Hoover platform, located about 200 miles south of Houston, and operations shut-in. So far, no major problems are expected at BP's offshore facilities in the region.
Ports in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico — including the Texas ports of Corpus Christi, Houston, Galveston, Texas City, Freeport, Beaumont and Port Arthur and the Louisiana ports of Cameron, Lake Charles and New Orleans — were set at port condition Yankee today, meaning gale force winds (39-54 mph) are expected within 24 hours and inbound vessel traffic over 500 gross tons is prohibited.
The US Coast Guard's captain of the port of Houston suspended lightering operations at the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) at 11pm ET Monday. Lightering, the process in which crude or refined products are transferred from one ship to another, likely will be delayed off the Texas ports of Corpus Christi and Houston until Thursday due to sea conditions.
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Port of NOLA to close prior to TS Francine
Port of NOLA to close prior to TS Francine
Houston, 10 September (Argus) — The port of New Orleans (Nola) in Louisiana and terminal operators there are limiting operations today in preparation for a full closure Wednesday as tropical storm Francine passes. Terminal operators are expected to reopen on 12 September after damages are assessed. United Bulk Terminals (UBT) issued a force majeure this morning from the Davant terminal on concerns for employee safety. The company did not disclose a timeline for reopening. UBT specializes in coal and petcoke along with other commodities. Associated Terminals will suspend operations 11-12 September and will assess damages on 13 September. The National Weather Service forecasts Francine to make landfall tomorrow on the Louisiana coast as a hurricane. Commodities including petcoke, coal, agriculture and fertilizer are likely to be affected by the port closure. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Italy's Falconara refinery widens crude slate
Italy's Falconara refinery widens crude slate
Barcelona, 10 September (Argus) — Italian refiner API is widening the crude slate at its 83,000 b/d Falconara refinery, joining other Mediterranean operators in seeking new grades because of political disruption and ownership changes. Falconara was a keen importer of Iraqi Kirkuk crude between 2019-23, before a dispute between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Turkey halted exports. In 2022 Falconara received 33 crude cargoes, all but five of which were Kirkuk grade. Since the second half of July this year Falconara received six cargoes, all of different grades. August receipts were 75,000 b/d, up from 50,000 b/d a month earlier, according to Argus tracking. Deliveries were 35,000 b/d of Saudi Arab Light and 40,000 b/d of Libyan crude, split between Es Sider and Sarir. The latter was the first at Falconara in eight years. In September Falconara has taken 1mn bl of Kazakh Kebco and, according to Kpler data, a first cargo of 125,000bl cargo of Italian onshore Val'd Agri. At 38.4°API and 2.1pc sulphur Val'd Agri is close to Kirkuk's 36°API and 2pc sulphur, although output is far lower. Argus assessed Falconara's receipts at 55,000 b/d in January-August. The slate was a weighted average gravity of 30.6°API and 2pc sulphur content, compared with 31.8°API and 2pc sulphur overall last year and 35.6°API and 1.8pc in 2022, when Kirkuk dominated. Other regional refiners have changed their sourcing. Italy's Saras is importing a first cargo of Azeri Light since February 2022 , with light sweet Libyan alternatives halted by conflict. It may take different grades as trading firm Vitol becomes its new owner, after Trafigura had supplied large amounts of US WTI. Greece's Motor Oil Hellas (MOH) had to find an alternative to a 1mn bl cargo of Basrah Medium that was attacked in the Red Sea on the way to its 180,000 b/d Corinth facility. MOH opted for a first cargo of Guyanese Unity Gold. Helleniq Energy has changed its slate in the absence of Kirkuk and sanctioned Russian Urals, and it took first cargoes of Guyanese crude , and Ivory Coast crude and struck a deal with Iraq for Basrah grades. . Spain's Repsol is boosting cargoes of heavy Venezuelan crude under a sanctions waver and API's Trecate refinery has increased receipts of Nigerian Qua Iboe since it bought out ExxonMobil. Argus estimates Italian seaborne crude imports — excluding the northeast terminal of Trieste — at 1.13mn b/d in August, a four-month high and up from 1.06mn b/d in July. For a seventh consecutive month, Azeri BTC Blend and Libyan grades were Italy's largest imports, at 205,000 b/d and 195,000 b/d respectively. Nigeria and Caspian CPC Blend each supplied 125,000 b/d and Arab Light 115,000 b/d. By Adam Porter Italy crude imports mn bl Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Greece's Desfa to front-load gas grid expansion plans
Greece's Desfa to front-load gas grid expansion plans
London, 10 September (Argus) — Greek transmission system operator Desfa plans to complete nearly all the gas projects in its updated 10-year development plan (TYDP) within the next three years. Desfa's projected spend on all projects comes to over €1.37bn, of which €1.34bn would be used within the next three years. The most important of these projects are presented below, split by category. Interconnectors Desfa expects the 1.5bn m³/yr Greece-North Macedonia interconnector to start commercial operations in January 2026, a delay of roughly a year from the timeline it gave in October 2023. The pipeline will run from Nea Messimvria — where Azeri gas enters the Greek grid — to Gevgelija and will cost around €92mn. LNG terminals The connection of the Dioriga LNG terminal will start commercial operations in December 2026, according to the latest TYDP, 1½ years later than previously envisaged. Desfa expects to reach a final investment decision (FID) on a metering and regulating station to connect the planned Dioriga LNG terminal in February 2025. Developer Motor Oil Hellas recently told Argus it plans to make FID on the project by the end of this year . The project will cost Desfa around €21mn and will be financed through connection fees. The new entry point will have a capacity of around 11.8mn m³/d, or 4.3bn m³/yr. Desfa expects a new small-scale jetty already under construction at Revithoussa to start commercial operations in December 2025. The €38mn project will enable ships with capacities of 1,000-30,000m³ of LNG to unload and reload. And Desfa has also taken FID on a compressor station for Revithoussa, which will allow for boil-off gas to be sent into the transmission system rather than flared. Commercial operations are envisioned to start in May 2025. No mention of grid connections for the Argo floating storage and regasification unit or Thessaloniki LNG projects were included in the TYDP, throwing their future into further doubt following recent delays . Power plants Desfa included multiple pipeline connections to gas-fired power plants in the TYDP. The operator expects the 877MW Thermoilektriki Komotinis plant's connection to the grid to start commercial operations in October. It will have a capacity of around 3.4mn m³/d, or 1.24bn m³/yr. The project's operators expect test operations to begin this autumn . Another project will connect Elpedison's planned 826MW plant near Thessaloniki, with a capacity of around 1.14bn m³/yr. Desfa envisions commercial operations beginning in November 2025. A third project would connect to an 840MW plant at Alexandroupolis and start commercial operations in May 2027. Lastly, Desfa expects a project connecting the 873MW Larisa Thermoelectriki plant to start commercial operations in mid-2027. Pipeline capacities for these two projects were not disclosed, but would likely be similar to the first two. Compressor stations Several compressor station plans have been delayed, notably at Komotini and Ampelia. The two expansion phases at Komotini have been pushed back by six months to March and June 2025, respectively, because of delays during the permitting process. The project will increase the system's "technical adequacy", as well as its capacity, according to Desfa. And Desfa expects the compressor station at Ampelia, a crucial part of enabling higher north to south transmission, to start commercial operations only in June 2025. The nine-month delay is because of "extreme weather events" in the area in 2023. And a booster compressor for the Trans-Adriatic pipeline at Nea Messimvria — which will enable fully bidirectional flows — is scheduled to start commercial operations in December 2025. Permitting delays have pushed back the start date by more than a year. Domestic grid Several large projects are also in the works to expand the domestic grid. Desfa plans a 145km pipeline to connect the city of Patras and its industrial area to the grid, expecting FID in June 2025 and the start of commercial operations in March 2027. The pipeline will have a capacity of around 240mn m³/yr, but with the possibility to be doubled if demand is sufficient. Desfa is also planning a 157km pipeline to connect west Macedonia and a metering station at Kardia-Kozani, with a planned capacity of around 440mn m³/yr. This project will help to enable gas supply to district heating installations in the area, Desfa said. Desfa has taken FID and expects commercial operations to start in June 2025. And Desfa's most expensive plan, at €311mn, will duplicate the 215km main transmission line from Karperi to Komotini. This will increase capacity from north to south and aims to eliminate bottlenecks for the provision of firm capacity from new entry and exit points in the northern part of the system, as well as the provision of firm access to the VTP. This will increase liquidity and provide "equitable access to all northern exit points, and is a "priority project" for Desfa. FID is planned for June 2025, and commercial start-up in March 2027. A related €151mn plan will duplicate the 100km Patima-Livadeia line, which will increase pressure in the system and enable firm capacity from the Dioriga Gas terminal. FID is planned for October 2025, and commercial operations in March 2027. By Brendan A'Hearn Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Opec trims oil demand growth forecasts again
Opec trims oil demand growth forecasts again
London, 10 September (Argus) — Opec has cut its global oil demand growth forecasts for 2024 and 2025 for a second month in a row, but its projection for demand remains way above other outlooks. In its latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) the producer group revised down its 2024 demand growth projection to 2.03mn b/d from 2.11mn b/d. This is mainly due to lower than previously expected oil demand growth from China and the US. It now sees China's oil demand growing by 650,000 b/d this year, compared with 700,000 b/d in the previous report. It cut US oil demand growth by 60,000 b/d to 110,000 b/d. Opec's forecast for this year remains bullish. The IEA projects oil demand will increase by 970,000 b/d this year, and the EIA sees demand rising by 1.1mn b/d. Opec noted its 2mn b/d growth forecast for this year "remains well above the historical average of 1.4mn b/d seen before the Covid-19 pandemic." Oil prices have declined sharply in early September following weaker-than-expected economic data from the US and China. And on 5 September eight members of the Opec+ alliance agreed to delay a plan to start increasing output by two months. Opec also today cut its oil demand growth forecast for next year, by 40,000 b/d to 1.74mn b/d, again mainly driven by lower consumption growth estimates this time in the Middle East. On the supply side, the group has kept its non-Opec+ liquids growth estimate for 2024 and 2025 unchanged at 1.23mn b/d and 1.10mn b/d, respectively. Opec+ crude production — including Mexico — fell by 304,000 b/d to 40.655mn b/d in July, according to an average of secondary sources that includes Argus . This is about 2.15mn b/d below Opec's projected call on Opec+ crude for this year, which stands at 42.8mn b/d. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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