US Gulf Coast terminals have restarted some crude oil exports after being halted due to hurricanes Ida and Nicholas. According to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, about 28% of crude output in the US Gulf of Mexico was still offline on Thursday, improving from 30% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, 42 of 288 platforms were evacuated before Ida remained without crews. BSEE said that facilities sustaining damage might take a while before returning to service.
Traders said that exporters of Mars crude had offered customers alternatives, including changing ports, re-scheduling loadings, or switching to other grades. As a result, Mars prices for October delivery fell to a two-week low of 50 cents per barrel discount against the US benchmark futures. Analysts said Mars would be the most affected grade by the storms. Royal Dutch Shell has yet to complete damage assessments at its West Delta-143 hub facility.
Ship-tracking data showed over 50 tankers were waiting to load or discharge oil in Louisiana and Texas through early October. Some tankers scheduled to load in Louisiana were diverted to Corpus Christi and Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) in Texas. Meanwhile, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) has not received any discharging vessel since Ida.
