IIR Energy BREAKERS: Power Markets See Modest Shift Back to Coal

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Natural Gas
U.S. Power Producers Shift Modestly Back to Coal from Natural Gas
A shift in the relative prices of coal and natural gas has spurred a modest shift in power generation away from natural gas and back toward coal (John Kemp-Reuters News). Coal costs have fallen to just $2.08 per million British thermal units compared with an average of $2.18 in the same month last year. Electricity generators produced 263 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity from gas during the first quarter of 2017, down from 312 TWh in 2016. But power production from coal increased to 292 TWh in January-March 2017, up from 278 TWh in the same period last year. The U.S. electric power sector consumed 677 million short tons of coal in 2016, the lowest amount since 1984 (Energy Information Administration). Electric power sector coal consumption accounted for more than 93% of all coal consumed in the U.S.. Electric power sector coal consumption in 2016 was 35% lower than in 2008, when U.S. coal production reached its highest level.

Cheniere Energy Pipeline Gets $500 Million Shot in the Arm
Cheniere Energy's Midship natural gas pipeline project will receive an investment of up to $500 million under an agreement with EIG Global Energy Partners. The 200-mile, 36-inch interstate pipeline would transport up to 1.44 million dekatherms per day from STACK and SCOOP processing plants in the Anadarko Basin and provide deliveries to Bennington, Oklahoma, as well as access to downstream markets, including the TexOk hub near Atlanta, Texas. Cheniere's Midship Holdings LLC has filed a project application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). (Plant: 3227131)

Refining
LyondellBasell's Houston Refinery Restarts After Storm Outage
LyondellBasell's Houston Refining restarted the 120,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Crude 536, the 91,000-BBL/d Vacuum 536 and 57,000-BBL/d Coker 737 units at its 265,000 BBL/d Houston, Texas, refinery. The units were shut down on Sunday due to a power loss caused by severe weather moving through the area. The units are expected to be fully operational within the next 48 hours. (Plant: 1000066)

Tesoro to Change Name to Andeavor
Tesoro will change its name to Andeavor effective August 1. The change follows Tesoro's June 1 acquisition of Western Refining. With the acquisition, the company will now have 1.1 million barrels of refining capacity and 13,000 employees. Industrial Info is tracking $1.56 billion in project activity involving Tesoro. Tesoro's 167,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Golden Eagle Refinery in Martinez, California, remains on schedule for 60 days of planned maintenance starting this Tuesday, June 6. Units involved include the 73,000-BBL/d fluid catalytic cracker unit (FCCU), 15,000-BBL/d SF Alky, 62,000-BBL/d Cat Feed hydrotreater and 23,000-BBL/d Reformer 3 CCR. Industrial Info is tracking 68 Tesoro projects worth $1.43 billion, including several planned turnarounds at the Golden Eagle Refinery. (Plant: 1011188)

Power
TVA's Sequoyah Power Station Unit 02 Trips Offline During Startup
Unit 02 of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Sequoyah Nuclear Power Station tripped offline Friday while in start-up. The 1,130-megawatt unit will remain offline until June 8. Industrial Info is tracking $73.5 million in project activity at the Sequoyah Generating Station, including a $26 million refueling outage for Unit 02, which is planned for 2018. (SERC) (Plant: 1012648)

Navajo Power Station Unit 01 in Arizona to Go Offline for Repairs
Unit 01 of the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement & Power District's Navajo Power Generating Station in Page, Arizona, will go offline on June 8 for boiler feed pump repairs. The coal-fired, 750-megawatt unit will remain offline until June 11. The three-unit, 2,250-megawatt Navajo Generating Station is expected to close at the end of 2019 because it can no longer compete with cheaper, natural gas-fired generation. The station was brought online in the 1970s. (WECC) (Plant: 1015877)

PetChem
LyondellBasell's Corpus Christi Ethylene Plant to Reach Full Capacity in Few Days
LyondellBasell's newly expanded ethylene plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, is expected to achieve 100% operational capacity in the next few days. The 800 million-pound-per-year expansion was completed in January. Industrial Info is tracking more than $5 billion in active capital projects by LyondellBasell, including a 1.1 billion-pound-per-year polyethylene unit addition at its complex in La Porte, Texas. (Plant: 1000939)

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