Gulf coast refiners continue storm assessments: Update
Adds prices for blendstocks, gasoline and diesel.
Gulf coast refiners continue to assess storm damage from Hurricane Beryl, but reports suggest the overall disruption to fuel supply is minimal.
The largest refinery in Beryl's path was Marathon Petroleum's 631,000 b/d Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City, Texas, which lost power Monday morning leading to flaring and unit outages.
The company today declined to comment on operations at what is one of the largest refiners in the US, but market sources say nearly half of the plant's capacity could be down due to the unit outages.
Valero's 225,000 b/d Texas City refinery next door to Marathon's Galveston Bay plant may have been affected by the same power outage. The company has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
ExxonMobil said today that operations were "stable" at its 565,000 b/d Baytown plant on the Houston Ship Channel — the second largest plant on the storm's path — but the company expects minimal impact on production as it continues to assess the facility for damage.
Chevron said yesterday its 112,000 b/d Pasadena refinery, also on the ship channel, continues to supply customers.
Power outages and high winds in the Houston, Texas, area caused by Hurricane Beryl led Explorer Pipeline Company to shut its 660,000 b/d southern system that transports refined products from Texas to Oklahoma. The company is waiting for power to be restored in the Houston area as of Tuesday morning.
Phillips 66 said yesterday its 265,000 b/d Sweeny refinery in Old Ocean, Texas, closer to the path of the storm, has power and continues to operate. The facility was flaring early Monday following a unit upset before being brought back to normal operating conditions.
Citgo's 165,000 b/d Corpus Christi refinery, south of where Beryl made landfall, pre-emptively curtailed rates as it prepared for the hurricane over the weekend and said today it has returned to normal operations.
Valero and Flints Hills Resources, which manage a combined 633,000 b/d of capacity in Corpus Christi next to the Citgo plant, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Fuel, blendstock price movement limited
Gasoline and diesel prices showed little reaction to the hurricane outages. A rise of just 0.05¢/USG was seen in conventional gasoline on Tuesday, while the diesel fuel market fell more than 6¢/USG.
The storm's impact on aromatics supply also appeared to be minimal given ample inventory of blendstocks — including toluene (TX) and mixed xylenes (MX) — and incoming imports. Demand for TX ahead of the storm proved lackluster, and despite disrupted operations little change in pricing has surfaced.
Argus assessed nitration-grade toluene for July delivery at 333¢/USG on 8 July, down 2¢/USG from Friday 5 July, before Beryl's arrival on the Texas Gulf coast. July 5211-grade MX was assessed at 336¢/USG on 8 July, also down 2¢/USG from 5 July.
Gasoline blendstock supply, which includes TX and MX, in the US Gulf coast region remains long, with sources indicating that more imported material is set to arrive on US shores this month and next.
US Gulf coast refiners appear to have robust fuel inventories for this time of year. The four-week average of Gulf coast gasoline inventories in the week ended 28 June was up by over 4pc from the same period in 2023 and up by 6pc from 2022, after hitting a near six-month high in the penultimate week of June.
Recovery times vary
US Gulf coast refiners have faced a number of massive storm systems in the past decade, with recovery times gradually shortening.
Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 it took Gulf coast refiners three months to return to pre-storm levels of production, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API), but only 29 days in 2017 after hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
The US Energy Information Administration will publish weekly data on 17 July including the days when Beryl struck Texas, showing any decline in throughputs caused by the storm.
Related news posts
NGL pipeline burning in La Porte, Texas: Update
NGL pipeline burning in La Porte, Texas: Update
Houston, 16 September (Argus) — 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. By Michael Camarda and Gordon Pollock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more