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Gas11-Jul-2024
LNG-to-power demand surges in early July
Coal availability improving but remains
lower on year
Temperatures retreat from peak but high
temperatures still expected
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Record-high temperatures have
pushed up power demand, which could prompt
Japanese power utilities back in the spot
market for additional LNG volumes.
The weather outlook indicates the hottest
temperatures may have passed for now, after
peaking at 36C in Tokyo on 8 July. However,
high probability of above-average temperatures
remains through to the first half of
August.
A sustained heat wave would like drain LNG
storage and trigger restocking demand in the
autumn. Preliminary generation data for the
first ten days of July indicates higher
gas-fired generation compared to last year and
relatively sluggish coal dispatch.
POWER DEMAND
An ongoing heatwave pushed power consumption in
the first week of July up by 5% compared to the
same period last year and 6% from the 2018-22
average.
The increase in demand was even more pronounced
in the first half of the current week, at 10%
above the 2018-22 average. The current weather
forecast shows closer-to-average temperatures
in the next few days before pushing higher
again later in the month.
STORAGE
LNG storage for power generation remains
relatively stable but fell below 2m tonnes for
the first time since April in the week ended 7
July.
At 1.98m tonnes, this is down by 0.1m tonnes
compared to 9 July 2023, and still in average
territory. However, further pressure could
increase the need for replacement volumes in
late summer and autumn.
NUCLEAR
Shikoku Electric’s 890MW Ikata 3 is scheduled
to go offline for maintenance from 19 July to
30 September. Kansai Electric’s 826MW Takahama
1 and Kyushu Electric’s 890MW Sendai 1 are
scheduled to return from maintenance in late
August.
Nuclear availability is forecast 14% lower on
year in August.
COAL
Coal plant availability has been improving
since June but is still likely to fall 1% short
in July compared to the same month last
year.
Tohoku Electric’s 1GW Haramachi 2 is now
scheduled to restart on 24 July, five days
earlier than previous scheduled.
Ethylene11-Jul-2024
SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Earlier this week, the head
of Brazil’s chemical producers’ trade group
Abiquim accompanied President Luiz Inacio Lula
da Silva during his official visit to Bolivia
and returned with deals which could potentially
increase and liberalize natural gas supplies to
Brazil.
The chemicals industry in Brazil consumes
around a third of all-natural gas available,
according to Abiquim. Prices in the largest
Latin American economy, however, are
considerably higher than in the US, the other
large economy in the Americas.
Therefore, natural gas supplies – how to
increase them and how to make them more
affordable – has been on Abiquim lobbying
agenda for some time now.
Nearly a year ago, Brazil’s minister for energy
and mines, Alexandre Silveira, was the star
guest at an Abiquim event presenting a study on
how to increase supplies. At the time, Silveira
thanked them for the kind invitation but he
came to basically say the government had little
to do and it should be the private
sector leading the effort.
Truth be told, Brazil’s cabinet has much to say
and much it could do about energy. The rather
overwhelming and dominant position of Petrobras
– a ministry in all effects, with its CEO
always handpicked by whoever is the president –
gives the energy major a key role in what
Brazil’s energy landscape looks like.
Its interest in natural gas has always been
very limited, injecting the supplies it gets
from crude oil production back into the system.
However, Abiquim and Petrobras earlier this
year signed an agreement to explore joint
projects on natural gas supplies. In June,
Abiquim said in an interview with ICIS
there would be news on that front within weeks,
but nothing has been announced yet.
One year on since Silveira attend that event in
Sao Paulo, it seems industrial trade groups
come and go in Brasilia’s corridors of power as
they please.
The current left-leaning administration and
manufacturing companies have a common goal,
expressed in different wishes: the former, more
and better paid manufacturing jobs to please
Lula’s Workers Party (PT) core constituency;
the latter, higher sales and profits, and
improving their competitiveness can be an
important part of that.
Thus, this week Lula invited to go to Bolivia
with him trade groups or associations
representing sectors directly affected by
Brazil’s high natural gas prices.
Among them, Abiquim’s head, Andre Passos, with
whom ICIS will publish an interview next week.
Never shy in using strong words, Abiquim said
the week’s agreements in Bolivia represented a
“historic step” for Brazilian chemicals which
could come to partly fix its competitiveness
problem.
“The visit to Bolivia is in line with the
objectives of the Gas Para Empregar
[Gas for Jobs] program and could represent an
immense short-, medium- and long-term
opportunity for the natural gas market, with
the possibility of even using gas from
Argentina through Gasbol [pipeline connecting
Bolivia’s fields with Brazil’s south and most
industrialized states],” said Abiquim.
“Based on the conversations held, it will now
be possible to start rounds of negotiations for
the contracting of Bolivian and Argentine gas
without the participation of Petrobras, which
will be essential to increase competition in
the gas market, enabling greater liquidity, and
even helping to make natural gas from the
pre-salt viable.”
Abiquim added that Brazil’s Ministry of Mines
and Energy was “essential in making this moment
a reality” and in helping private players to
make progress on being able to directly
contract gas in Bolivia.
In Brazil, the Ministry for Energy and
Petrobras are the two decisive voices in energy
policy. Abiquim’s diplomatic words thanking the
ministry is just another way of saying they are
pleased to see Petrobras losing the nearly full
control it has had in issues related to the
natural gas supply from Bolivia.
A GIANT SEEKING
GASBrazil has for several years
been importing natural gas from Bolivia, via
the pipeline Gasbol, which links the producer’s
fields with Brazil’s southern and more
industrialized states. Gasbol is the longest
natural gas pipeline in South America with
3,150 kilometers (1,960 miles).
According to Brazil’s Ministry of Energy and
Mines, Bolivia is Brazil’s main supplier of
natural gas supplying two thirds of its
imports. Meanwhile, natural gas represents 86%
of Bolivia’s exports to Brazil.
Regarding natural gas, the trip this week aimed
at easing access to that gas for Brazilian
private sector players, until now quite
constrained in what they could purchase given
that natural gas bilateral trade has
practically been a state-controlled affair via
the state-owned energy major Petrobras.
That was one of Brazil’s delegation legs, led
by trade groups such Abiquim, Abrace Energia
which represents energy consumers, trade group
for industrialists in Sao Paulo state FIESP,
Abvidro representing the glass sector, and
Aspacer and Anfacer, both representing the
ceramics industry.
Brazil’s minister for energy and mines,
Alexandre Silveira, and Petrobras’ new CEO,
Magda Chambriad, were also part of the
delegation.
While the company she now presides over may
lose the upper hand in natural gas trade with
Bolivia, Chambriad said – according to the
Ministry of Energy and Mines’ press office –
that the new natural gas production areas in
Bolivia are going through the environmental
licensing phase and could start up as soon as
2025.
“The increase in gas supply to Brazil
translates into lower prices in the country,”
concluded the ministry.
As it normally happens, many of the deals
signed this week will be worth only the paper
they are written in in some years’ time.
However, they could be meaningful if just a few
of them were to be implemented: the Bolivian
Ministry for Hydrocarbons and Energy, in charge
of all areas mentioned so far, published this
week as many as 12 press releases on as many
agreements.
For example, and again related to Brazil’s
thirst for natural gas, private companies had
conversations about potential imports from
Argentina but via the Bolivian Gasbol.
MERCOSUR – AND MILEILula
went to Bolivia after having visited Paraguay
for a summit of Mercosur, the trade bloc formed
by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and
which this year welcomed Bolivia as a member.
However, Argentina’s Javier Milei refused to
participate in the summit, perhaps for the
best. He has insulted Lula so many times and in
so colorful manners that it may be hard to try
and establish any personal relationship – the
two have never met face to face.
To make his preferences clear, instead of
attending the Mercosur summit, Milei went to
Brazil’s state of Santa Catarina for an
international event of right-wing and far-right
figures.
“No political rift will prevent dialogue with
our Argentine brothers and sisters,” said
Silveira before travelling to the summit,
quoted by the public news agency Agencia
Brasil.
But increasingly more people are wondering what
Mercosur’s future will look like. Despite Lula
and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, who
was in 2023 the holder of the EU’s rotatory
presidency, both leaders were unable to push
their sides ton conclude the free trade deal
between the two blocs, which has been in the
making more than 20 years.
The financial weekly The Economist also
wondered this week about the bloc’s importance,
highlighting Milei’s absence. In an opinion-ed
article – those without byline which would
represent the publication’s view – it said that
the host’s rebuffs to Mile for not attending
may well fall in deaf ears.
“It was an especially pointed snub.
Skipping the twice-yearly get-together of the
presidents of Mercosur, Milei chose instead to
speak to the hard right at a Conservative
Political Action Conference in Brazil … The
reality is that Mercosur is no longer so
important. Even the host, Santiago Peña of
Paraguay, admitted that ‘Mercosur is clearly
not going through its best moment’,” said the
article.
“Milei has never formally met Luiz Inácio Lula
da Silva, Brazil’s president, whom he slags off
as ‘corrupt’ and a ‘communist’ (Brazil’s
supreme court quashed Lula’s conviction – and
he is a socialist). But political
incompatibilities go back further: Jair
Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former leader, and Alberto
Fernández, Milei’s Peronist predecessor,
similarly shunned each other.”
THE FIGURES
In 2023, trade flows between Brazil and Bolivia
totaled $3.31 billion, with a surplus of $278
million for Brazil, according to official
figures.
Bolivia was the 35th main destination for
exports and the 30th country of origin for
Brazilian imports. Brazil was the main
destination for Bolivian exports and the second
country of origin for its imports.
The main products exported by Brazil to Bolivia
were those from the steel sector (iron and
steel, bars, angles, and profiles, 6.1% of the
total), and passenger cars (3.8%).
The main products imported by Brazil from
Bolivia were natural gas (86%) and chemical
fertilizers (4.8%).
Focus article by Jonathan
Lopez
Ethylene11-Jul-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–The conditions that helped make
Beryl become a hurricane before hitting Texas
chemical plants will persist through the rest
of the season, with meteorologists forecasting
11 more forming in the Atlantic basin.
Conditions are already conducive for
hurricanes even though the peak of the season
does not happen until the late summer.
Beryl still disrupted chemical operations
even though it was a relatively weak hurricane
when it made landfall in Texas.
The next hurricane could disrupt global
chemical markets if it damages terminals and
ports on the Gulf Coast.
BERYL’S KNOCKS OUT
POWEREven though Beryl was a
Category 1 hurricane – the weakest class – it
still caused more than 2 million outages in
Texas.
Many of the disruptions that Beryl caused to
the chemical industry were because of power
outages. A roughly equal number of disruptions
was caused by companies shutting down
operations as a precaution. Other disruptions
were attributed to bad weather.
PORT DISRUPTIONSBeryl’s
other major effect was on ports.
The ports of Corpus Christi, Freeport, Texas
City and Houston had shut down.
Beryl caused Freeport LNG Development to shut
down its operations.
CONDITIONS THAT MADE BERYL SO POWERFUL
WILL PERSISTBeryl illustrates
the destructive potential of a weak Category 1
hurricane that travels through parts of Texas
that host critical powerlines and ports.
The meteorology firm AccuWeather estimates
that total damage and economic loss caused
by Beryl was $28-32 billion.
Beryl was remarkable because, prior to making
landfall in Texas, it had become a Category 5
hurricane, the most powerful class under the
Saffir-Simpson scale.
It was the first time that such a powerful
hurricane had formed so early in the year,
something that US meteorologist attributed to
exceptionally warm ocean temperatures. The
surface temperatures at sea are already close
to what is typical during the mid-September,
the peak hurricane season,
according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
After Beryl made landfall in Mexico’s Yucatan
peninsula, it weakened into a tropical storm
before passing over more warm water in the Gulf
of Mexico.
There it strengthened rapidly and became a
hurricane once more before hitting Texas.
The warm waters that contributed to Beryl’s
strength will persist and should soon be joined
by La Nina, a weather phenomenon that also
makes hurricanes more likely.
METEOROLOGISTS RAISE HURRICANE
FORECASTEarlier this week, the
hurricane forecast for this year was raised by
meteorologists at Colorado State University’s
Tropical Weather & Climate Research.
The following compares the center’s latest
hurricane forecast to its update in June and to
the average for the years 1991-2020.
July
June
Average
Named Storms
25
23
14.4
Named Storm Days
120
115
69.4
Hurricanes
12
11
7.2
Hurricane Days
50
45
27.0
Major Hurricanes
6
5
3.2
Major Hurricane Days
16
13
7.4
Source: Colorado State University
Like NOAA, Colorado State University (CSU)
noted that extremely warm sea surface
temperatures and a possible La Nina are making
it more likely for hurricanes to form and
strengthen.
THE NEXT HURRICANE COULD CAUSE MORE
DAMAGEThe next hurricane can
prove to be a bigger logistical headache for
railroad companies. Beryl had caused only brief
disruptions at BNSF and Union Pacific (UP).
Beryl’s path did not threaten US oil and gas
production in the Gulf of Mexico. The next
storm could threaten those wells, causing
several energy producers to shut in production.
Damage to Gulf Coast oil, ethane, LPG and LNG
terminals could disrupt energy markets if the
outages last long enough.
Texas and the neighboring state of Louisiana
are home to most of the nation’s LNG export
capacity. Prolonged outages at LNG terminals
could lead to an oversupply of natural gas in
the US because producers could lose an outlet
to ship out excess capacity.
Prices for natural gas could consequently
fall. Prices for ethane tend to follow
those for natural gas, so they would also fall
in the event of a supply glut.
Texas ships ethane and liquefied petroleum gas
(LPG) to crackers all over the world. If the
next hurricane damages those terminals and
leads to a prolonged shutdown, it could have
global repercussions by interrupting shipments
of feedstock to crackers.
In the US, it could cause prices for those
products to plummet, especially for propane. US
midstream companies are already trying to ship
out as much LPG as possible because production
has been so prolific.
Over the years, US producers have exported
increasing amounts of polyethylene (PE) and
polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
If the next hurricane damages those plants,
then it would have a direct effect on global
petrochemical markets.
Insight by Al Greenwood
Thumbnail shows a distribution transformer
of a power line knocked down by Beryl. Image by
Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Global News + ICIS Chemical Business (ICB)
See the full picture, with unlimited access to ICIS chemicals news across all markets and regions, plus ICB, the industry-leading magazine for the chemicals industry.
Crude Oil11-Jul-2024
LONDON (ICIS)–Global crude oil demand slumped
to 710,000 bbl/day in Q2 2024 as China’s
post-pandemic economic rebound ran its course,
the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on
Thursday.
Representing the slowest quarterly increase
since the closing months of 2022, the period
saw Chinese demand decline in April and May,
the agency said in its July monthly oil market
report.
Global oil demand gains are expected to hover
below one million barrels/day in 2024 and 2025
as tepid consumption growth, vehicle
electrification and energy efficiency measures
weigh on purchasing.
Total supply increased by 150,000 barrels/day
to 102.9 million barrels in June as easing
maintenance levels and increasing biofuels
output offset a fall in Saudi production, the
IEA added.
Saudi Arabia output fell to 8.85 million
barrels in June from 9.03 million barrels the
previous month, according to IEA data, leaving
the Kingdom’s total excess capacity at 3.26
million barrels/day.
Despite weak demand growth, pricing firmed
slightly in June, with Brent crude futures
priced around $86/barrel at the end of the
month, and remaining around the $85/barrel mark
in trading this week.
This increase was driven in part by OPEC+
coalition signals that the schedule for
unwinding production cuts would depend on
market conditions, easing fears of a sudden
surge in supply.
Petrochemical sector demand for oil was
sluggish during the quarter, the IEA added, but
other signs point to potential early
improvements for manufacturing in Europe.
“Demand for industrial fuels and petrochemical
feedstocks was particularly weak. By contrast,
Q2 delivery data of gasoil and naphtha for OECD
economies came in higher than expected,
potentially signalling a budding recovery in
Europe’s ailing manufacturing sector,” the IEA
said.
Despite the industrial input uptick, overall
demand continues to trend slower, the agency
added.
“For next year, the call on OPEC+ crude
tumbles… as demand growth continues to slow
and non-OPEC+ output continues to expand. After
the hot summer, cooler trends are set to
prevail.”
Thumbnail photo: An oil rig off the coast
of China’s Hebei province. Source:
Xinhua/Shutterstock
Ethylene10-Jul-2024
SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Brazil’s annual rate of
inflation rose over the 4% mark in June as the
Brazilian real depreciated and prices for food
and health services rose strongly, the
country’s statistics office IBGE said on
Wednesday.
Brazil’s annual National Consumer Price Index
(IPCA in its Portuguese acronym) rose in June
to 4.23%, up from May’s
3.93%.
In May, inflation had already risen partly
after severe flooding in Rio Grande do Sul
caused generalized food price rises in the
southernmost state.
Financial analysts had already warned in May
than higher-than-expected price rises could
prompt the central bank to halt interest rates
cuts for the rest of 2024, hoping to contain
the latest upticks in inflation.
On Wednesday, June further uptick prompted some
of them to suggest there were growing chances
there would not be any cuts to interest rates
until 2026.
THREE MONTHS ON THE
MARCHAs well as the increase in
the annual rate of inflation to 4.23%, the IPCA
also rose month on month, with monthly
inflation at 0.21%, down from May’s 0.46%.
Prices for food consumed at home rose by 0.47%
in June, compared with May, and prices for
health service rose by 0.54%.
Transportation prices fell 0.19% in June, month
on month, airfares posting the sharpest drop,
down 9.88%. Fuel prices had mixed changes, with
gasoline and ethanol prices rising, while
diesel and vehicle gas prices fell.
Gray columns: forecast
Source: IBGE via Trading Economics
At the beginning of 2024, there were
expectations that inflation would seasonally
rise in the second half of the year, but the
increases have materialized sooner and stronger
than expected.
Petrochemicals-intensive manufacturing
companies insist high interest rates continue
to be a drag in their sales, as consumers shy
away from big ticket purchases of durable
goods, posting them until borrowing costs come
down.
RATES AT 10.5% UNTIL
2026?On Wednesday, financial
analysts, most of whom were assuming the
central bank would resume its monetary policy
easing in
early 2025 once the latest upticks in
inflation had been contained, have now turned
more pessimist.
UK-headquartered Capital Economics said it was
“hard to see any scope” for cuts to the Selic,
the main benchmark, in 2024 but added there was
even a “growing risk” there will not be cuts in
2025 either.
In June, the central bank’s monetary policy
committee (Copom) decided to keep the Selic
unchanged at 10.5%
after several cuts in a few months since August
2023, when it peaked at 13.75%.
SELIC Source: Banco
Central do Brazil via Trading Economics
In June, investors’ weariness about President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva intentions to
increase public spending, potentially widening
the fiscal deficit, spooked currency traders
and the real (R) depreciating over the month.
It reached a low on 2 July at $1/R5.70,
although it has recovered since to around
$1/R5.41 on Wednesday afternoon.
The current fiscal deficit – and the prospect
of it widening – was not helped by public
spats, first, between members of Lula’s
coalition cabinet nor by the President’s
remarks criticizing the central bank and its
president, quite outside the norm not to
interfere with the institution’s independence.
In the end, Lula’s comments and his ministers’
public disagreements on fiscal targets may have
caused the cabinet’s main wish – lowering rates
to increase consumption and jobs in
manufacturing – caused the exact opposite
effect.
“The recent weakness in the real and mounting
fiscal concerns means that there is no chance
that Copom will restart its easing cycle at its
meeting later this month. Rates are likely to
be left unchanged throughout this year and
there is a growing risk of no cuts next year
either,” said analysts at Capital Economics.
“Of some comfort to Copom will be that the
strength in core services inflation in May
unwound … And more to the point, higher
headline inflation will compound concerns at
the central bank, particularly given the
worsening fiscal position and recent fall in
the real.”
REAL VERSUS DOLLAR
Source: Trading
Economics
Earlier in the week, before June inflation
figures came out, economists surveyed by the
central bank every week had already turned
pessimistic as well about inflation falls
slowing down and cuts being cut less than
previously expected.
However, they do still expect cuts in 2025 – on
average, they expect the Selic to close 2025 at
9.50%, although that was an increase from their
expectations a month ago.
They now also expect inflation to end up higher
both years – at 4.02% in 2024 and 3.88% in
2025. Expectations for GDP growth remain
practically unchanged at 2.10% for 2024 and
1.97% for 2025.
Expectations for the dollar/real exchange rate
also remain practically unchanged, with the
economists surveyed by the central bank
expecting the real to close 2024 and 2025 at
$1/R5.20.
BRAZIL GDP
Quarter on quarter
Source: IBGE via Trading
Economic
Focus article by Jonathan
Lopez
Ethylene10-Jul-2024
LONDON (ICIS)–Total damage and economic loss
in the US from Storm Beryl amounted to $28-32
billion, according to meteorology firm
AccuWeather.
Beryl hit
the Texas coast as a Category 1 hurricane
on Monday, with sustained winds around 80 mph
(130 km/h), intense rainfall and dangerous
storm surges.
AccuWeather said its estimate included damage
to homes, businesses, infrastructure,
facilities, roadways and vehicles as well as
power
outages which results in food spoilage and
interruption to medical care.
It reflects damage that has already occurred
and expected damage yet to happen as Beryl, now
a post-tropical cyclone, continues its path
through the Midwest toward northern New
England.
“The estimate also accounts for the costs of
evacuations, relocations, emergency management,
and the government expenses for clean-up
operations,” AccuWeather said in a statement
dated 9 July.
“It also includes the long-term effect on
business logistics, transportation, tourism as
well as the tail health effects and the medical
and other expenses of yet unreported deaths and
injuries.”
Last year’s Hurricane Idalia, which made
landfall into the Big Bend of Florida, caused
$18-20 billion in total damage and economic
loss; damage from Hurricane Ian in 2022 was
$180-210 billion; and Hurricane Harvey, which
hit a similar area of Texas in 2017, totalled
$230 billion, AccuWeather added.
Click here to view the ICIS topic page on
Storm Beryl news
Thumbnail photo: Stranded vehicles in Houston,
Texas, on 8 July. Source: CARLOS
RAMIREZ/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Crude Oil10-Jul-2024
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–South Korea and Thailand are
currently holding their first round of
negotiations for a bilateral economic
partnership agreement (EPA).
The three-day talks being held in Bangkok will
end on 11 July, South Korea’s Minister of
Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said on 9
July.
Delegations from the two countries “are to
engage in negotiations on goods, services,
investment, digital, government procurement,
and intellectual property”, it said.
A bilateral EPA will serve as an institutional
foundation for upgrading the Korea-Thailand
economic cooperation, according to Roh Keon-ki,
South Korea’s deputy minister for free trade
agreement negotiations.
Thailand is an emerging market and the
second-biggest economy in southeast Asia after
Indonesia, while South Korea is highly
industrialized and ranks as the 14th largest
economy in the world.
“While the two countries have already
established trade agreements through the
Korea-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP), the level of their trade and economic
cooperation has room for improvement,” MOTIE
noted.
The 10 ASEAN nations – Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
– are signatories to RCEP,
which also includes China, Japan, South Korea,
Australia and New Zealand.
RCEP is currently the world’s largest FTA,
covering about a third of world GDP, population
and total trade.
Hydrogen10-Jul-2024
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China’s recent decision to
include hydrogen in its draft national energy
law signals a transformative shift in the
country’s energy landscape.
By positioning hydrogen alongside traditional
energy sources, China is unlocking vast
investment opportunities and paving the way for
robust market growth in the burgeoning hydrogen
sector.
In this podcast, ICIS analysts Patricia Tao and
Yu Yunfeng delve into how this strategic focus
on hydrogen will reshape China’s energy sector
and foster sustainable industrial growth.
Ethylene09-Jul-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–The ports of Houston and
Freeport in Texas remain mostly closed on
Tuesday while millions remain without power
following Hurricane Beryl’s landfall at the
start of the week.
Port Houston said all of its terminals will
remain closed on Tuesday.
Port Freeport said the Freeport Harbor
Channel is closed. Gates 4 and 14 are closed,
while Gate 8 is opened.
Freeport LNG Development had shut down its LNG
operations at Freeport on July 7. It can export
15 million tonnes/year.
Loadings for LNG tankers slowed considerably on
8 July due to rough seas and suspension of
pilot services at Calcasieu Pass and Sabine
Pass. Both are in Louisiana.
The port of Corpus Christi
is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday. It is
the third largest oil-exporting port in the
world, and it is home to Corpus Christi
Liquefaction, a terminal that can export 15
million tonnes/year of liquefied natural gas
(LNG).
MILLIONS REMAIN WITHOUT
POWERBeryl made landfall on
Sunday in Matagorda, Texas, as a Category 1
hurricane, with maximum sustained windspeeds of
80 miles/hour (130 km/hour).
So far, much of its effect on chemical
operations has been by interrupting power.
On late Tuesday morning, Texas reported more
than 2.82 million outages, according to the
website poweroutage.us,
which keeps track of power outages in the US.
CenterPoint Energy, the main electrical
transmission and distribution company in
Houston, said more than 1.76 million customers
remain
affected by outages.
Entergy,
the main one for eastern Texas, said on
Monday evening that 247,000 customers remained
without power.
Texas-New Mexico Power, which handles the
areas around Freeport and Galveston said it
73,220 customers are affected by outages.
BERYL CAUSED SOME CHEM
SHUTDOWNSElectrical outages and
precautions had caused some chemical companies
and refiners to shut down units.
Enterprise Products said bad weather
caused a trip to a propane
dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in Mont Belvieu,
Texas.
Marathon Petroleum
reported power loss and multiple unit
shutdowns at its Galveston Bay refinery.
Dow
shut down its operations in Seadrift,
Texas, as a precaution.
In Baytown, ExxonMobil said
it is continuing to assess the site for
possible damage as it resumes normal
operations. The company anticipated minimal
impact to production.
Formosa Plastics
shut down its Olefins 1 unit at Port
Comfort, Texas.
Interoceanic Corporation (IOC) said its
affiliate, PCI Nitrogen,
has halted ammonium sulphate (AS) and
sulphuric acid production at its facility in
Pasadena, Texas.
Phillips 66
reported an upset at its refinery in
Sweeney, Texas. The refiner did not say if it
shut down any unit. Personnel had returned it
to normal operations.
CITGO
reduced operating rates at its refinery
in Corpus Christi, Texas.
BASF Total Petrochemical’s cracker in Port
Arthur, Texas,
produced off-spec material because of a
suspected lightning strike.
LIMITED RAIL
DISRUPTIONSOn Monday, BNSF said
its Pearland intermodal facility in Houston
remained closed.
WEATHER
FORECASTIn the late morning,
Beryl had degraded into a post tropical cyclone
with maximum sustained winds of 30 miles/hour,
according to the National Hurricane Center.
It was in the northeastern part of the US state
of Arkansas, and meteorologists expected it
would continue traveling in that direction
towards Canada.
Thumbnail shows flooding caused by Beryl.
Image by Reginald
Mathalone/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
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