-- Valero Energy said on Oct 11 its 250,000 b/d refinery in Port
Arthur, Texas, that was idled ahead of Hurricane Rita and damaged by
the storm should be back online by the end of the week. Valero put a
two-to-four week timetable on Port Arthur's restart in the aftermath
of Rita, which made landfall along the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast on
Sep 24.
-- Citgo has brought back on line several key units at its
325,000 b/d Lake Charles, Louisiana, refinery, the company said on
Oct 11. In a statement, the company said that once powerhouse
facilities were brought back on line late last week in the wake of
Hurricane Rita, it restarted two crude units, an FCC and two delayed
cokers over the weekend.
-- Total on Oct 11 began the process of restarting units at its
240,000 b/d Port Arthur, Texas, refinery following its closure ahead
of Hurricane Rita, the company reported in a series of filings with
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
-- The International Energy Agency on Oct 11 cut oil supply
forecasts for 2005 after storms sank Gulf of Mexico rigs and flooded
refineries, and said growth in global demand will gather pace in
2006 after a slowdown this year.
-- The engineering successes of the oil and gas exploration
industry during this year's hurricanes stand as another argument for
the safety of expanded drilling into areas currently off limits, Red
Cavaney, chief of the oil industry group the American Petroleum
Institute said on Oct 11.
-- Oil and natural gas production from onshore and shallow-water
wells in a 38-parish region of Louisiana continued its incremental
recovery from shut-ins related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the
state Dept of Natural Resources said reported on Oct 11. According
to DNR, restored oil production as of Oct 11 was 46,069 b/d, or
22.7% of the region's pre-storm output of 203,139 b/d. Restored
natural gas production was put at 683,600 Mcf/d, or roughly 30.6% of
the region's pre-hurricane output of 2.235 Bcf/d.
-- US residential natural gas consumers can expect to pay at
least 50% more for the fuel this winter, American Gas Association
Executive Vice President Roger Cooper said on Oct 11. Significant
disruptions in natural gas production in the aftermath of hurricanes
Katrina and Rita have been pegged as the main factor behind the
increase.
-- Entergy Corp on Oct 11 said it has just over 29,000 customers
without power because of Hurricane Rita, down from a peak outage of
766,000. Entergy also still has 51 transmission lines and 11
substations out of service, down from a peak of 343 transmission
lines and 436 substations damaged after the storm hit along the
Texas-Louisiana border Sept 24.
Copyright © 2005 - Platts
Please visit:
www.platts.com
Their coverage of energy matters is extensive!!.