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Released September 27, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info on Thursday showed that fuel terminals in Florida were shutting down in preparation for Hurricane Helene as forecasters warned of life-threatening conditions.
Helene had strengthened to a Category 4 storm by Thursday night, with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, when it made landfall along Florida's Big Bend region. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 60 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 310 miles.
"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," according to a Thursday forecast from the National Hurricane Center.
Industrial Info was seeing an impact to the state's energy sector. Millions of gallons of storage capacity for refined petroleum products were knocked offline by Ian, and Industrial Info finds that Kinder Morgan shut down its refined products terminal in Florida with a 1.6 million-barrel capacity ahead of the storm. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Terminals Plant Database can click here for a detailed plant profile.
"Inbound and outbound vessel traffic to Port Tampa Bay, where over 17 million tons of petroleum- and natural gas-related products move through in a typical year, has ceased," a notice from the U.S. Energy Information Administration added.
Industrial Info reports that operations at four ports already have been impacted ahead of the storm. In addition to Port Tampa Bay, the Georgia Ports Authority, the U.S. Naval Submarine Base at Kings Bay, Georgia, and the Port of Palm Beach, Florida, have reported impacts to their operations.
Railroad companies CSX (NYSE:CSX) (Jacksonville, Florida) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) (Atlanta, Georgia) also were closely monitoring the hurricane, according to news reports.
Helene should avoid the dense network of refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast, though power issues are certain to arise from the storm.
Also, Industrial Info is tracking the status of more than 60 power plants that could be in its path with a total capacity of nearly 20 gigawatts (GW). Of that, Industrial Info sees four nuclear power facilities in Helene's likely path, including the 4.5-gigawatt (GW) Vogtle station in Waynesboro, Georgia, operated by Georgia Power (Atlanta, Georgia). One unit there is already offline for a refueling project and Helene could delay its return to service. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
Elsewhere, energy companies by Monday already were taking steps to protect their assets in the Gulf of Mexico, with both BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) among those curtailing production offshore.
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said Wednesday that about 15% of total offshore production was shut-in because of the storm. By Thursday, the agency updated the outage to about 25% of total production, or 441,923 barrels per day (BBL/d).
The U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico account for about 15% of total crude oil production, or about 1.8 million BBL/d on average. About 20% of the total gas production offshore was shut in, though offshore production pales in comparison to the billions of cubic feet of natural gas coming from inland shale deposits.
Tornadoes, meanwhile, could spin out of the storm and impact surrounding states. A tornado that spun off the remnants of Hurricane Beryl idled Exxon Mobil Corporation's (NYSE:XOM) (Spring, Texas) refinery in Joliet, Illinois, due to a power outage in July.
Apart from damaging winds, Helene is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge to coastal areas as tropical storm conditions. Some areas in the storm's path could see as much as 18 inches of rain.
"This rainfall will likely result in catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant river flooding," the Thursday forecast read. "Numerous landslides are expected in steep terrain across the southern Appalachians."
Florida's governor declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm and some counties in its path have called on its residents to evacuate.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Helene had strengthened to a Category 4 storm by Thursday night, with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, when it made landfall along Florida's Big Bend region. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 60 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 310 miles.
"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," according to a Thursday forecast from the National Hurricane Center.
Industrial Info was seeing an impact to the state's energy sector. Millions of gallons of storage capacity for refined petroleum products were knocked offline by Ian, and Industrial Info finds that Kinder Morgan shut down its refined products terminal in Florida with a 1.6 million-barrel capacity ahead of the storm. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Terminals Plant Database can click here for a detailed plant profile.
"Inbound and outbound vessel traffic to Port Tampa Bay, where over 17 million tons of petroleum- and natural gas-related products move through in a typical year, has ceased," a notice from the U.S. Energy Information Administration added.
Industrial Info reports that operations at four ports already have been impacted ahead of the storm. In addition to Port Tampa Bay, the Georgia Ports Authority, the U.S. Naval Submarine Base at Kings Bay, Georgia, and the Port of Palm Beach, Florida, have reported impacts to their operations.
Railroad companies CSX (NYSE:CSX) (Jacksonville, Florida) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) (Atlanta, Georgia) also were closely monitoring the hurricane, according to news reports.
Helene should avoid the dense network of refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast, though power issues are certain to arise from the storm.
Also, Industrial Info is tracking the status of more than 60 power plants that could be in its path with a total capacity of nearly 20 gigawatts (GW). Of that, Industrial Info sees four nuclear power facilities in Helene's likely path, including the 4.5-gigawatt (GW) Vogtle station in Waynesboro, Georgia, operated by Georgia Power (Atlanta, Georgia). One unit there is already offline for a refueling project and Helene could delay its return to service. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Power Plant Database can click here for the plant profile.
Elsewhere, energy companies by Monday already were taking steps to protect their assets in the Gulf of Mexico, with both BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) among those curtailing production offshore.
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said Wednesday that about 15% of total offshore production was shut-in because of the storm. By Thursday, the agency updated the outage to about 25% of total production, or 441,923 barrels per day (BBL/d).
The U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico account for about 15% of total crude oil production, or about 1.8 million BBL/d on average. About 20% of the total gas production offshore was shut in, though offshore production pales in comparison to the billions of cubic feet of natural gas coming from inland shale deposits.
Tornadoes, meanwhile, could spin out of the storm and impact surrounding states. A tornado that spun off the remnants of Hurricane Beryl idled Exxon Mobil Corporation's (NYSE:XOM) (Spring, Texas) refinery in Joliet, Illinois, due to a power outage in July.
Apart from damaging winds, Helene is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge to coastal areas as tropical storm conditions. Some areas in the storm's path could see as much as 18 inches of rain.
"This rainfall will likely result in catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant river flooding," the Thursday forecast read. "Numerous landslides are expected in steep terrain across the southern Appalachians."
Florida's governor declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm and some counties in its path have called on its residents to evacuate.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
