US energy firms are deploying their workers to evaluate damages on their offshore and coastal facilities as Hurricane Laura exited the region and moved further inland. The storm arrived in Louisiana in early August bringing 240 kph winds which damaged buildings and left more than 650,000 people in Louisiana and Texas without power. However, Laura’s surge was lower than anticipated, sparing refineries from severe flooding.
Upstream operators are scheduled to conduct reconnaissance flights over their offshore rigs in the US Gulf of Mexico where crews were evacuated last week. These operators shut 1.56 million bpd or 84% of the region’s crude output and 60% of natural gas production ahead of the hurricane. These capacities mostly remained offline.
Chevron, early Thursday said it had begun redeploying crews and restoring production at its platforms in the US Gulf of Mexico. BP said it was preparing to bring back workers, while Equinor plans a weekend flyover at its Titan platform. A spokesperson from BHP said the company was due to start platform assessments in the Gulf of Mexico later in the day.
The US Coast Guard said the ports of Cameron and Lake Charles in Louisiana and Beaumont, Port Arthur, Sabine, and Orange in Texas remained closed on Thursday. The oil-shipping facility at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port might reopen as early as Friday if it sustained no significant damages. Meanwhile, the Houston Ship Channel reported no severe damages and reopened on Thursday.
The hurricane also prompted the shutdown of several US LNG export terminals. An industry survey estimated that US LNG exports were on course to drop to 2.1 Bcfd on Thursday, the lowest since February last year.
Initial reports showed oil refineries sustained relatively light damages, US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said. However, they may require days before restarting operations due to widespread power outages. Brouillette noted that utility workers from other states had been deployed to Louisiana to restore power quickly.
