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Released August 28, 2020 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industries along the Louisiana-Texas borderline at the Gulf Coast were left to pick up the pieces, assess damages, cope with power outages and begin the process of restarting plant operations in the wake of Hurricane Laura, which had blasted through the region early Thursday as a Category 4 storm with winds up to 150 miles per hour.
The hurricane made landfall about 1 am Thursday near Cameron, Louisiana, about 35 miles east of the Texas border. By mid-Thursday, Laura weakened to a tropical storm. The center of the storm was expected to move over Arkansas later on Thursday, and through the mid-Mississippi Valley on Friday, and the mid-Atlantic states on Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Click here for a map showing the rainfall forecast for Tropical Storm Laura.
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) estimated Thursday that about 84.3% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, and 60.1% of natural gas production, had been shut in. Personnel were evacuated from 297 production platforms, 46.2% of the 643 manned platforms in the Gulf.
As of Thursday morning, Industrial Info's research teams had confirmed more than 310 industrial plants as offline in the immediate area of the storm's landfall. Hundreds of thousands of residents in the region had been left without power.
In Westlake, Louisiana, a fire was reported at a Biolab Incorporated (Lawrenceville, Georgia) isocyanurates plant as a result of a gas leak. Authorities were investigating the cause of the incident and a timeline for the restart of operations had yet to be determined. The facility had been evacuated when the hurricane was upgraded to Category 4, and all its employees were safe, the company said in a prepared statement. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Seven refineries, with a total processing capacity of more than 2.2 million barrels per day, were offline as of Thursday morning. Five of the refineries were expected to begin the restart process over the weekend. The remaining two refineries, located in Lake Charles, could take up to several weeks to repair and bring back into service. CITGO Petroleum Corporation's (Houston, Texas) 420,000-barrel-per-day Lake Charles refinery remained shut down on Thursday due to the hurricane, as plant personnel assessed the facility for any wind-related damage. See the refinery's plant profile for more information.
Laura had drawn comparisons with Hurricane Rita, which had hit the same region 15 years earlier as one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded, with winds of 180 miles per hour. Along the Gulf Coast, 47 power plant units, totaling 9,400 megawatts, were shut down due to Hurricane Rita. As of Thursday morning, Industrial Info had confirmed that 36 power generation units at nine plants, representing a total of 8,178 megawatts (MW), were offline in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.
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 hurricane made landfall about 1 am Thursday near Cameron, Louisiana, about 35 miles east of the Texas border. By mid-Thursday, Laura weakened to a tropical storm. The center of the storm was expected to move over Arkansas later on Thursday, and through the mid-Mississippi Valley on Friday, and the mid-Atlantic states on Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) estimated Thursday that about 84.3% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, and 60.1% of natural gas production, had been shut in. Personnel were evacuated from 297 production platforms, 46.2% of the 643 manned platforms in the Gulf.
As of Thursday morning, Industrial Info's research teams had confirmed more than 310 industrial plants as offline in the immediate area of the storm's landfall. Hundreds of thousands of residents in the region had been left without power.
In Westlake, Louisiana, a fire was reported at a Biolab Incorporated (Lawrenceville, Georgia) isocyanurates plant as a result of a gas leak. Authorities were investigating the cause of the incident and a timeline for the restart of operations had yet to be determined. The facility had been evacuated when the hurricane was upgraded to Category 4, and all its employees were safe, the company said in a prepared statement. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Seven refineries, with a total processing capacity of more than 2.2 million barrels per day, were offline as of Thursday morning. Five of the refineries were expected to begin the restart process over the weekend. The remaining two refineries, located in Lake Charles, could take up to several weeks to repair and bring back into service. CITGO Petroleum Corporation's (Houston, Texas) 420,000-barrel-per-day Lake Charles refinery remained shut down on Thursday due to the hurricane, as plant personnel assessed the facility for any wind-related damage. See the refinery's plant profile for more information.
Laura had drawn comparisons with Hurricane Rita, which had hit the same region 15 years earlier as one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded, with winds of 180 miles per hour. Along the Gulf Coast, 47 power plant units, totaling 9,400 megawatts, were shut down due to Hurricane Rita. As of Thursday morning, Industrial Info had confirmed that 36 power generation units at nine plants, representing a total of 8,178 megawatts (MW), were offline in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.
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.
