Harvey

The oil and gas industry is able to respond faster than it did a decade ago when severe storms hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, but the region today also is more strategic to world energy markets, which means disruptions like Hurricane Harvey have to be overcome, and quickly, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

At its peak, Hurricane Harvey knocked out more than 10,000 MW of electricity generating capacity in the Texas grid, while relatively cool temperatures across most of the state also reduced natural gas demand.

The hurricane that was Harvey clearly impacted U.S. natural gas, liquids and oil operations, with production and consumption falling as refineries and processors were forced to shutter, analysts said Friday.

Natural gas exports through the Sabine Pass terminal on the Texas coast are expected to rebound over the coming week, as ships begin enter the terminal this week post-Harvey, representing a demand rebound of more than 1.5 Bcf/d, according to reports.

Cheniere Energy Inc.’s natural gas export facility in Sabine Pass, TX, on Wednesday was said to be loading its first cargo in more than a week following shut-ins from Hurricane Harvey.

Eagle Ford Shale producers working in South Texas are getting back to business, with some of the largest operators expecting to be operating within a week or two at the same level they were before Hurricane Harvey forced them to shutter operations.

The Texas Gulf Coast was drying out Tuesday, more than a week after Harvey pummeled the region and dumped record rainfall across the Greater Houston area, the nation’s largest energy complex. The oil and natural gas industry was back to work after the Labor Day holiday, while experts were attempting to make sense of long-term impacts from the devastation.

Cenagas, the Mexican natural gas control center, on Wednesday lifted a state of alert imposed on the Sistrangas natural gas storage and transportation system imposed by Harvey’s impact on U.S. imports.

Houston may suffer from “third world-like conditions” for weeks to come as the Gulf Coast attempts to pick up the mangled pieces from Harvey’s destruction, a weather expert said Friday.