Reports related to this article:
Plant(s): View 4 related plants in PECWeb
Released September 26, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A day after a federal offshore agency initiated its response team for offshore production, weather forecasters on Wednesday updated Helene to a hurricane as it made its way northeast toward the Florida panhandle.
The National Weather Service had already issued hurricane warnings for parts of the Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, Florida. The storm as of 4 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday was about 460 miles southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour, which would make it a Category 1 hurricane.
It is expected to strengthen even more after it passes through the waterway separating Cuba from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had already declared a state of emergency.
Helene is expected to cross the Florida Big Bend coast as a major hurricane Thursday evening. After landfall, it is expected to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday. As of Wednesday, hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 25 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 345 miles.
Parts of Florida could be hit by catastrophic storm surges of as much as 20 feet, along with destructive waves, the National Hurricane Center said. Over portions of the southeastern U.S. into the southern Appalachians, Helene is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 6 to 12 inches with isolated totals around 18 inches, according to the Hurricane Center.
"This rainfall will likely result in catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant river flooding," the Hurricane Center said in its Wednesday advisory. "Landslides are possible in steep terrain across the southern Appalachians."
By Wednesday morning, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued her own state of emergency in response to the storm, calling on residents of area mobile homes to evacuate. Free sandbags were available for some residents in anticipation of storm surge.
Florida took a direct hit from Hurricane Ian in 2022, a Category 5 hurricane that left more than 2.8 million people without power after it made landfall. More than a dozen fuel terminals were closed as well, representing more than 8 million barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel storage capacity.
Rail lines were impacted too, with CSX (NYSE:CSX) (Jacksonville, Florida) closing some intermodal terminals and railyards due to the extensive storm damage in Florida. Florida has no refineries of its own.
Helene's expected path avoids the dense network of refineries and export terminals that dot the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, but operators by Monday had already taken action to protect their interests in the Gulf of Mexico.
Paula Beasley, a spokesperson for Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California), told Industrial Info on Monday that the company started evacuating all of its personnel from the Blind Faith and Petronius platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
On Tuesday, meanwhile, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), an offshore regulator, enacted its emergency response for offshore oil and gas operations.
Production from the Gulf of Mexico is expected to average 1.8 million barrels per day (BBL/d) during the third quarter, according to federal estimates. Hurricane Francine, which made landfall in Louisiana last month, sidelined about 42% of total Gulf production at its peak.
By Wednesday, the BSEE said about 511,000 BBL/d was shut in as a result of the storm, representing 29% of total output. And though gas production was down by nearly 17%, the volume is relatively insignificant relative to the vast deposits of natural gas located in the inland shale basins in the United States.
Once Helene passes over Florida, meanwhile, it will remain a threat to inland states.
"Weakening is expected after landfall, but Helene's fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States, including over the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians," according to Wednesday's forecast from the National Hurricane Center.
Power Plant Impact
With Helene now a hurricane expected to make landfall east of Panama City Beach, Florida, Thursday, all eyes are on the fast-moving storm's path.
Industrial Info is tracking 66 power plants in the 120-kilometer/hour cone along the path, totaling 19.9 gigawatts (GW) of electricity.
Key nuclear facilities in the likely path include:
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Plant Database can click here for the plants mentioned in this article.
Typically when a significant weather event is predicted for a nuclear facility, the staff follows a standard checklist that includes walk-downs of outside areas, sandbags near plant intake structures, laying down booms to protect grating, and topping off the fuel in vehicles and plant equipment. Industrial Info confirmed with sources at Oconee and Vogtle that they were in full prep mode on Wednesday.
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).
The National Weather Service had already issued hurricane warnings for parts of the Gulf Coast, including Tampa Bay, Florida. The storm as of 4 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday was about 460 miles southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour, which would make it a Category 1 hurricane.
It is expected to strengthen even more after it passes through the waterway separating Cuba from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had already declared a state of emergency.
Helene is expected to cross the Florida Big Bend coast as a major hurricane Thursday evening. After landfall, it is expected to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday. As of Wednesday, hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 25 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 345 miles.
Parts of Florida could be hit by catastrophic storm surges of as much as 20 feet, along with destructive waves, the National Hurricane Center said. Over portions of the southeastern U.S. into the southern Appalachians, Helene is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 6 to 12 inches with isolated totals around 18 inches, according to the Hurricane Center.
"This rainfall will likely result in catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with significant river flooding," the Hurricane Center said in its Wednesday advisory. "Landslides are possible in steep terrain across the southern Appalachians."
By Wednesday morning, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued her own state of emergency in response to the storm, calling on residents of area mobile homes to evacuate. Free sandbags were available for some residents in anticipation of storm surge.
Florida took a direct hit from Hurricane Ian in 2022, a Category 5 hurricane that left more than 2.8 million people without power after it made landfall. More than a dozen fuel terminals were closed as well, representing more than 8 million barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel storage capacity.
Rail lines were impacted too, with CSX (NYSE:CSX) (Jacksonville, Florida) closing some intermodal terminals and railyards due to the extensive storm damage in Florida. Florida has no refineries of its own.
Helene's expected path avoids the dense network of refineries and export terminals that dot the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, but operators by Monday had already taken action to protect their interests in the Gulf of Mexico.
Paula Beasley, a spokesperson for Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California), told Industrial Info on Monday that the company started evacuating all of its personnel from the Blind Faith and Petronius platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
On Tuesday, meanwhile, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), an offshore regulator, enacted its emergency response for offshore oil and gas operations.
Production from the Gulf of Mexico is expected to average 1.8 million barrels per day (BBL/d) during the third quarter, according to federal estimates. Hurricane Francine, which made landfall in Louisiana last month, sidelined about 42% of total Gulf production at its peak.
By Wednesday, the BSEE said about 511,000 BBL/d was shut in as a result of the storm, representing 29% of total output. And though gas production was down by nearly 17%, the volume is relatively insignificant relative to the vast deposits of natural gas located in the inland shale basins in the United States.
Once Helene passes over Florida, meanwhile, it will remain a threat to inland states.
"Weakening is expected after landfall, but Helene's fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States, including over the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians," according to Wednesday's forecast from the National Hurricane Center.
Power Plant Impact
With Helene now a hurricane expected to make landfall east of Panama City Beach, Florida, Thursday, all eyes are on the fast-moving storm's path.
Industrial Info is tracking 66 power plants in the 120-kilometer/hour cone along the path, totaling 19.9 gigawatts (GW) of electricity.
Key nuclear facilities in the likely path include:
- Alabama Power's Farley Nuclear Power Station (1,790 megawatts [MW])
- Georgia Power's Hatch Nuclear Power Station (1,774 MW)
- Duke Energy's Oconee Nuclear Power Station (2,660 MW)
- Georgia Power's Vogtle Nuclear Power Station (4,566 MW)
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Plant Database can click here for the plants mentioned in this article.
Typically when a significant weather event is predicted for a nuclear facility, the staff follows a standard checklist that includes walk-downs of outside areas, sandbags near plant intake structures, laying down booms to protect grating, and topping off the fuel in vehicles and plant equipment. Industrial Info confirmed with sources at Oconee and Vogtle that they were in full prep mode on Wednesday.
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).
