Hurricanes

Despite the dramatic destruction and disruptions caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year, energy companies overall have weathered the storms from a credit standpoint, according to a report by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&).

In an update Friday of supply availability on its 500 and 800 Lines, Tennessee said current shut-in production as a result of damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita totals about 350,000 Dth/d. About 100,000 Dth/d is offline due to pipeline damage and 250,000 Dth/d is shut in due to third-party damage, Tennessee said. See the bulletin board for an itemized list of ongoing recovery projects and Tennessee’s projections for when they will be completed.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported Tuesday 54% of the state’s oil and natural gas wells — or 3,204 out of 5,949 wells– have been restored to production, following the devastating hurricanes and storms that swept through the state three months ago. Another 2,155 wells, or 36.2%, remain shut in, and the status of about 10%, or 590 wells, remains unknown.

Pipeline damage, third-party processing limitations and reduced shipments from some offshore producers following the massive hurricanes three months ago still prevent about 15% of El Paso Corp.’s natural gas pipeline flows, the company reported Thursday. Total flows on El Paso’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Southern Natural Gas and ANR Pipeline systems remained down as of Dec. 16 by 770 MMcf/d out of the 4.97 Bcf/d flowing before Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29.

The experience of existing U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities during the recent Gulf of Mexico hurricanes has supported the designs for new terminals and demonstrated that onsite power generation is probably the single most important added consideration for the new projects, according to Sempra Energy COO Donald Felsinger.

In the lessons learned department, personnel from municipal natural gas systems who are pitching in to help out systems damaged by the Gulf Coast hurricanes, have some suggestions about preparedness. For one thing, have a duplicate system map stored somewhere above high water, preferably with another utility system operator; And, if you’re going into unfamiliar territory to help out, take your own water, fuel, food — and a GPS locator because flattened road signs aren’t going to be any help.

While CF Industries Holdings, Inc. suffered no damage to its Donaldsonville, LA nitrogen fertilizer complex during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, its business will be off in the fourth quarter due to the high cost of feedstock natural gas. And its greatest challenge could come in the spring if farmers decide to cut back on planting because of high fertilizer costs.

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Duke Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline signaled Wednesday it will be more aggressive this winter than in the past in monitoring its system to ensure customers don’t withdraw more than they put into the system.

El Paso Corp. said about 80 MMcfe/d of its Gulf of Mexico production shut in during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will not come back online until the first quarter of 2006. Net production offshore totaled 205 MMcfe/d prior to Katrina and 170 MMcfe/d before Rita.