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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As of Wednesday morning, about 3.4 million Texans are without electricity as the Lone Star State continues to grapple with its worst winter storm in decades. Strong rainfall early Wednesday in southern portions of Texas, including Houston, made some of the icy conditions icier, with the National Weather Service warning that "devastating ice accumulations" could create "dangerous travel conditions, numerous power outages and extensive tree damage." Houston and Dallas are among the cities seeing their fourth consecutive day of freezing temperatures, the longest stretch since 1983.
The National Weather Service predicts significant ice accumulations from east Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley to Virginia and North Carolina by Wednesday night. Ice accumulations of a quarter to a half inch are forecast in parts of east Texas, northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas and western Mississippi, with "crippling totals" of more than half an inch possible.
Texas has long sidestepped federal oversight of its power grid through its own grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and other officials have harshly criticized ERCOT for its handling of the current crisis, including its decision early Monday to start rotating power outages to manage the skyrocketing demand. One utility in the state, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Dallas, Texas), said Tuesday that "poor grid conditions" made it difficult to handle the rolling outages.
Abbot also criticized Texas' growing reliance on renewable energy sources for the outages. But industry experts were quick to point out that thermal sources (mainly natural gas, coal and nuclear) accounted for about two-thirds of the gigawatts out of service, whereas renewables accounted for about one-third, according to the Texas Tribune.
Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Texas Tribune that natural gas-fired generation is seeing the most significant decline in power generation.
The influential U.S. market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) also is feeling the freeze. Nationwide, feed gas deliveries to LNG terminals dropped from 9 billion cubic feet on Friday fell to 5 billion cubic feet on Monday.; the overwhelming majority of those deliveries are to terminals along the Texas and Louisiana coast.
UPDATED 5:20 PM: Here's a list of power, chemical, pipeline and refining facilities across Texas and southern Louisiana to have been shut down or otherwise affected by weather conditions:
Chevron Phillips Chemical has suspended operations at its 2.3 billion-pound-per-year polyethylene (PE) plant in Pasadena, Texas. It could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1507337
Eastman Chemical Company has suspended operations at its 800 million-pound-per-year HCC4 Ethylene Unit; 300 million-pound-per-year HCC3 Ethylene Unit; and 300 million-pound-per-year HCC3a Ethylene Unit at its plant in Longview, Texas. The units could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1003253
The Freeport LNG Production Plant shut down LNG production Trains 2 and 3 to limit natural gas and electricity consumption. Train 1 was shut down Monday due to freezing weather affecting operations at the pretreatment plant. Plant profile: 3016690
LyondellBasell has shut down its 1.9 billion-pound-per-year OP1 Unit; 1.9 billion-pound-per-year OP2 Unit; 1.96 billion-pound-per-year OP2 Flex Unit; and 72 metric-ton-per-year Methanol Unit at its facility in Channelview, Texas. The units were taken offline due to the harsh winter temperatures. They could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1013498
Phillips 66 is running its 247,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Sweeny Refinery at normal operating conditions. Operations have not been affected by during Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1012987
Unconfirmed: Phillips 66 was forced on February 15 to reduce rates on the 60,000-BBL/d Crude 4 (FUELS), 34,000-BBL/d Reformer 10 CCR and 25,000-BBL/d Isomerization units at its 242,000-BBL/d Lake Charles Refinery in Westlake, Louisiana, due to Winter Storm URI. Plant profile: 1000068
LyondellBasell has suspended operations at its 2.6 billion-pound-per-year QE1 Ethylene Unit at its plant in La Porte, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1017565
Flint Hills Resources shut down its 1.54 billion-pound-per-year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit at its plant in Houston, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1002754
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC suspended operations at its 1.47 Billion Lbs/yr 24 Ethylene Unit; 2.25 Billion Lbs/yr 33 Ethylene unit; and 560 Million Lbs/yr 22 Ethylene unit at its plant in Sweeny, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1025398
TC Energy shut down its U.S. Gulf Coast Pipeline, called the Marketlink Pipeline, on Tuesday, February 16. This affects receivers of crude oil from Cushing South to various areas along the Texas Gulf Coast near Houston, Sour Lake and Nederland. More than a dozen pipeline systems feeding into the Marketlink system will have their batches destined for the Gulf Coast held at Cushing until further notice. Plant profile: 3017107
INEOS Olefins & Polymers has suspended operations of the 1.7 billion-pound-per-year Olefins 1 Ethylene unit at its Chocolate Bayou Olefins plant in Alvin, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1516204
Dow Chemical Company has suspended operations of the 1.653 billion-pound-per-year PDH OC-4 Unit at its Oyster Creek Chemical Plant in Freeport, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1003507
ExxonMobil Chemical Company has suspended operations of the 1.3 billion-pound-per-year BPEX Polyethylene Unit at its plant in Beaumont, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1500561
Indorama Ventures Oxides & Glycols LLC has suspended operations of the 400 million-pound-per-year A3 Ethylene unit at its plant in Port Neches, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1001886
Shintech Louisiana LLC has suspended operations of the 1.1 billion-pound-per-year Ethylene 1 Unit at its Plaquemine Vinyls Complex in Beaumont, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1065667
The Bastrop Energy Center in Cedar Creek, Texas, is unable to operate due to gas supply issues caused by extreme cold temperatures. Plant profile: 1042531
HollyFrontier has shut down the 75,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Crude Distillation Unit at its Tulsa East Refinery due to Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1009149
Phillips 66, on Monday, February 15, shut down its 30,000-BBL/d FCCU 40, 34,000-BBL/d Naphtha HDS 19.1, 20,000-BBL/d Reformer 19.2 and the 20,000-BBL/d Distillate HT 19.3 units at its 145,000-BBL/d refinery in Borger, Texas, due to a loss of hydrogen. The 19.1, 19.2, and 19.3 are scheduled to begin a turnaround this week. Industrial Info is checking on the duration on the FCCU 40 and Hydrogen 98 outages that resulted from Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1013020
MarkWest subsidiary Javelina Company LLC has suspended operations of the 63 million-pound-per-year Ethylene Unit at its plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1000816
Unconfirmed: Phillips 66 was forced to shut down the majority of its 195,000-BBL/d Ponca City Refinery on February 15 and 16, due to Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1000224
Unconfirmed: Valero was forced to shut down its 80,000-BBL/d Crude West and its 36,000-BBL/d Reformer at the 190,000-BBL/d Memphis Refinery due to Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1014166
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
The National Weather Service predicts significant ice accumulations from east Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley to Virginia and North Carolina by Wednesday night. Ice accumulations of a quarter to a half inch are forecast in parts of east Texas, northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas and western Mississippi, with "crippling totals" of more than half an inch possible.
Texas has long sidestepped federal oversight of its power grid through its own grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and other officials have harshly criticized ERCOT for its handling of the current crisis, including its decision early Monday to start rotating power outages to manage the skyrocketing demand. One utility in the state, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Dallas, Texas), said Tuesday that "poor grid conditions" made it difficult to handle the rolling outages.
Abbot also criticized Texas' growing reliance on renewable energy sources for the outages. But industry experts were quick to point out that thermal sources (mainly natural gas, coal and nuclear) accounted for about two-thirds of the gigawatts out of service, whereas renewables accounted for about one-third, according to the Texas Tribune.
Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Texas Tribune that natural gas-fired generation is seeing the most significant decline in power generation.
The influential U.S. market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) also is feeling the freeze. Nationwide, feed gas deliveries to LNG terminals dropped from 9 billion cubic feet on Friday fell to 5 billion cubic feet on Monday.; the overwhelming majority of those deliveries are to terminals along the Texas and Louisiana coast.
UPDATED 5:20 PM: Here's a list of power, chemical, pipeline and refining facilities across Texas and southern Louisiana to have been shut down or otherwise affected by weather conditions:
Chevron Phillips Chemical has suspended operations at its 2.3 billion-pound-per-year polyethylene (PE) plant in Pasadena, Texas. It could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1507337
Eastman Chemical Company has suspended operations at its 800 million-pound-per-year HCC4 Ethylene Unit; 300 million-pound-per-year HCC3 Ethylene Unit; and 300 million-pound-per-year HCC3a Ethylene Unit at its plant in Longview, Texas. The units could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1003253
The Freeport LNG Production Plant shut down LNG production Trains 2 and 3 to limit natural gas and electricity consumption. Train 1 was shut down Monday due to freezing weather affecting operations at the pretreatment plant. Plant profile: 3016690
LyondellBasell has shut down its 1.9 billion-pound-per-year OP1 Unit; 1.9 billion-pound-per-year OP2 Unit; 1.96 billion-pound-per-year OP2 Flex Unit; and 72 metric-ton-per-year Methanol Unit at its facility in Channelview, Texas. The units were taken offline due to the harsh winter temperatures. They could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1013498
Phillips 66 is running its 247,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Sweeny Refinery at normal operating conditions. Operations have not been affected by during Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1012987
Unconfirmed: Phillips 66 was forced on February 15 to reduce rates on the 60,000-BBL/d Crude 4 (FUELS), 34,000-BBL/d Reformer 10 CCR and 25,000-BBL/d Isomerization units at its 242,000-BBL/d Lake Charles Refinery in Westlake, Louisiana, due to Winter Storm URI. Plant profile: 1000068
LyondellBasell has suspended operations at its 2.6 billion-pound-per-year QE1 Ethylene Unit at its plant in La Porte, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1017565
Flint Hills Resources shut down its 1.54 billion-pound-per-year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit at its plant in Houston, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1002754
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC suspended operations at its 1.47 Billion Lbs/yr 24 Ethylene Unit; 2.25 Billion Lbs/yr 33 Ethylene unit; and 560 Million Lbs/yr 22 Ethylene unit at its plant in Sweeny, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1025398
TC Energy shut down its U.S. Gulf Coast Pipeline, called the Marketlink Pipeline, on Tuesday, February 16. This affects receivers of crude oil from Cushing South to various areas along the Texas Gulf Coast near Houston, Sour Lake and Nederland. More than a dozen pipeline systems feeding into the Marketlink system will have their batches destined for the Gulf Coast held at Cushing until further notice. Plant profile: 3017107
INEOS Olefins & Polymers has suspended operations of the 1.7 billion-pound-per-year Olefins 1 Ethylene unit at its Chocolate Bayou Olefins plant in Alvin, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1516204
Dow Chemical Company has suspended operations of the 1.653 billion-pound-per-year PDH OC-4 Unit at its Oyster Creek Chemical Plant in Freeport, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1003507
ExxonMobil Chemical Company has suspended operations of the 1.3 billion-pound-per-year BPEX Polyethylene Unit at its plant in Beaumont, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1500561
Indorama Ventures Oxides & Glycols LLC has suspended operations of the 400 million-pound-per-year A3 Ethylene unit at its plant in Port Neches, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1001886
Shintech Louisiana LLC has suspended operations of the 1.1 billion-pound-per-year Ethylene 1 Unit at its Plaquemine Vinyls Complex in Beaumont, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1065667
The Bastrop Energy Center in Cedar Creek, Texas, is unable to operate due to gas supply issues caused by extreme cold temperatures. Plant profile: 1042531
HollyFrontier has shut down the 75,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Crude Distillation Unit at its Tulsa East Refinery due to Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1009149
Phillips 66, on Monday, February 15, shut down its 30,000-BBL/d FCCU 40, 34,000-BBL/d Naphtha HDS 19.1, 20,000-BBL/d Reformer 19.2 and the 20,000-BBL/d Distillate HT 19.3 units at its 145,000-BBL/d refinery in Borger, Texas, due to a loss of hydrogen. The 19.1, 19.2, and 19.3 are scheduled to begin a turnaround this week. Industrial Info is checking on the duration on the FCCU 40 and Hydrogen 98 outages that resulted from Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1013020
MarkWest subsidiary Javelina Company LLC has suspended operations of the 63 million-pound-per-year Ethylene Unit at its plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. The unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise. Plant profile: 1000816
Unconfirmed: Phillips 66 was forced to shut down the majority of its 195,000-BBL/d Ponca City Refinery on February 15 and 16, due to Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1000224
Unconfirmed: Valero was forced to shut down its 80,000-BBL/d Crude West and its 36,000-BBL/d Reformer at the 190,000-BBL/d Memphis Refinery due to Winter Storm Uri. Plant profile: 1014166
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
