Erwin Seba News

A very active Atlantic hurricane season so far this year has not sent storms across U.S. oil and natural gas fields in the northern Gulf of Mexico, sparing energy companies billions of dollars of losses and consumers higher fuel costs.The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season has been another in a string with above average activity producing three major hurricanes with winds above 111 mph (179 kph) out of six hurricanes among 20 named tropical storms.So far this year, only one storm, Tropical Storm Harold, on Aug.

There will likely be normal levels of tropical storm activity over the next two weeks as the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season hits its peak, forecasters at Colorado State University said on Thursday.An upper-level trough in the atmosphere is expected to continue bringing near-normal to above-normal wind shear over the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean, the forecasters said.“This increased shear is likely due to a vigorous tropical upper-tropospheric trough which has been one of the primary reasons why the Atlantic hurricane season has not been as active as projected…

Forecasters on Thursday amped up their outlook for the U.S. Atlantic hurricane season, saying warm sea temperatures and the absence of a moderating wind shear portend a "well-above average" number of storms.Colorado State University researchers raised their estimate for tropical storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes by one apiece to 20, 10 and five, respectively. There is a 50% chance or more of at least one major hurricane apiece hitting the East and Gulf Coasts, it said.The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season began on Wednesday and continues through Nov.

The Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana was bracing on Monday for the arrival of Tropical Storm Nicholas, which was expected to batter the region with life-threatening storm surge, flash flooding and gusty winds.The storm, carrying winds of 60 mph (97 kph), was moving erratically as it headed northward about 140 miles (225 km) south of the southern coast of Texas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a Monday morning bulletin. It was forecast to move ashore along the southern or central coast of Texas late on Monday afternoon or evening.The National Weather Service issued storm surge…

Damage to oil production facilities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico kept output largely halted on Sunday, a week after Hurricane Ida made landfall, according to offshore regulator the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).Energy companies have been coping with damaged platforms and onshore power outages and logistical issues, slowing efforts to restart production. Some 88% of crude oil output and 83% of natural gas production remained suspended.About 1.6 million barrels of crude oil remained offline, with only about 100,000 barrels added since Saturday.

Most ports along the U.S. Gulf Coast had reopened on Thursday following lengthy closures from Hurricane Ida, which lashed southern Louisiana with 150-mile-per-hour winds that caused extensive infrastructure damage and floods.Two of Louisiana’s main ports, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, reopened late on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. They joined the already functional terminals of Panama City, Biloxi, Mobile, Pascagoula, Bienville, Beaumont, Cameron, Lake Charles, Port Arthur…

Widespread flooding from Hurricane Ida and power outages slowed efforts on Tuesday by energy firms to assess damages at oil production facilities, ports, and refineries.Nearly all of Louisiana lost electrical power on Monday after one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the region downed transmission lines and flooded communities. Coastal areas were swamped by a storm surge so great it reversed the flow of the Mississippi River.Analysts said it could take two to three weeks to restart producing platforms and fully resume output at Louisiana refineries.

Hurricane Ida pummeled U.S. Gulf Coast energy suppliers, knocking out most of the region's offshore wells and nearly half its motor fuel production and drove prices broadly higher.The storm crashed on Sunday into the Louisiana coast, tearing through U.S. offshore oil and gas fields with 150 mile per hour (241 kph) winds and pushing up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) of water ashore. More than 620,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana were without power.Production losses - including at six Gulf Coast refineries - will lift retail gasoline prices by 5 to 10 cents a gallon, said tracking firm GasBuddy.

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm, forcing those who did not flee to brace themselves for the toughest test yet of the billions of dollars spent on levee upgrades following Hurricane Katrina 16 years ago.Ida came ashore near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, at 11:55 a.m. CDT (16:55 GMT), the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Hurricane-strength winds extended 50 miles (80 km) out from Ida's eye, forcing New Orleans to suspend…

U.S. oil and gas companies on Friday raced to complete evacuations from offshore Gulf of Mexico platforms as Tropical Storm Ida advanced towards oilfields that provide 17% of the nation's oil production.The storm early Friday was about 50 miles northwest of Grand Cayman Island moving north at 15 miles (24 km) and expected to intensify and become near a major hurricane when it hits the central U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). A major…

U.S. energy companies on Thursday began airlifting workers from Gulf of Mexico oil production platforms and moved vessels from the path of what could become a devastating hurricane by the weekend.A storm is brewing in the Caribbean Sea and is forecast to grind through the main oil-producing region of the Gulf. It could become a major hurricane ahead of landfall on the central Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center said. Hurricanes with winds of up to 111 miles (178 km) per hour are classified as major and can bring devastating damage onshore.BHP…

The U.S. government on Thursday forecast an above-normal 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, which is already off to an early start with a storm expected to form off Bermuda this week.The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast between three and five major hurricanes, with sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour (178 kph), will form in 2021.Between six and 10 hurricanes with winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) are expected out of 13-20 tropical storms in 2021, NOAA forecasters said.

A deep freeze that hit Texas over the weekend wrought more havoc on the U.S. energy sector on Tuesday, curbing output in the largest U.S. oil field, knocking out a fifth of the nation's refining capacity, and shutting a key shipping channel in Houston.Historic cold has knocked out roughly 4 million barrels per day of refining capacity, more than one-fifth of national capacity, according to Reuters calculations. About 500,000 to 1.2 million bpd of crude production has also been affected…

As crews began returning to U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore facilities on Thursday, this year's repeated oil and gas production halts were already hitting energy firms' results.Eight named storms entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico this year, most spiraling up to damaging storms that required offshore facility evacuations or temporary well shutdowns."It has been a difficult and challenging year because of the number of storms," said Erik Milito, president of trade group National Ocean Industries Association. U.S.

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday that a large semi-submersible rig drifted into and ran aground in the Sabine Bank Channel, limiting vessels entering the Sabine-Neches Waterway to those with a maximum draft of 32 feet (9.8 meters).The waterway sits on the Texas-Louisiana border and connects the Gulf of Mexico to Cheniere Energy Inc's Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant and to oil refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas.That area is west of where two hurricanes struck in recent weeks. Nearby refineries are owned by Exxon Mobil Corp, Valero Energy Corp, Total SA, and others.The semi-submersible rig, called the Jasminia, drifted into the Sabine Bank Channel and ran aground on Friday, a Coast Guard spokesman said. The rig had housed offshore workers in the past.

U.S. energy companies were returning workers and restarting operations at storm-swept production facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast on Sunday, two days after Hurricane Delta barreled through the area.Chevron Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BHP Group were returning workers to production platforms in the U.S.-regulated northern Gulf of Mexico, the companies said.BHP expect[ed] to complete the return of workers to its Shenzi and Neptune production platforms on Sunday, spokeswoman Judy Dane said…

Energy companies were securing offshore production platforms and evacuating workers on Tuesday, some for the sixth time this year, as a major hurricane took aim at U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season, was churning in the Caribbean with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour (225 kph), already a dangerous Category 4 storm that is expected to scrape across Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and re-enter the…

Energy companies on Monday began evacuating offshore oil platforms as the 25th named storm of the year formed in the Caribbean and was forecast to become a major hurricane before it entered the Gulf of Mexico and threatens the U.S. mainland.Tropical Storm Delta was expected to rapidly strengthen and become a Category 3 hurricane with up to 120 mile per hour (194 kilometers per hour) winds. It was about 160 miles south southwest of Negril, Jamaica, on Monday evening and moving west at 8 mph.Delta will bring rain…

As oil and gas companies began shutting offshore production before the first tropical storm of the season in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, experts said restarting wells and refineries will take longer and prove more costly this year because of COVID-19.Well shut-ins typically last a few days or weeks at most, but oil companies have adopted stringent virus precautions for refinery and offshore staff, including frequent health checks, travel restrictions, onsite protective gear, and…

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) suspended tanker offloading at its offshore marine terminal on Sunday because of Tropical Storm Sally, the company said in a statement posted on-line.The LOOP is the nation's only oil port able to receive the largest crude oil tankers. Its onshore storage facilities continued to operate as Sally, forecast to become a hurricane, threatened the Louisiana coast, the company said. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Energy companies, ports and refiners raced on Monday to shut down as Hurricane Sally grew stronger while lumbering toward the central U.S. Gulf Coast, the second significant hurricane to shutter oil and gas activity over the last month.The hurricane is disrupting oil imports and exports as the nation's sole offshore terminal, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), stopped loading tanker ships on Sunday, while the port of New Orleans closed on Monday.The U.S. government said 21%…

Energy companies on Monday began preparations to resume oil and gas production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, a day after Tropical Storm Cristobal blew through with high winds and heavy rains.Producers had evacuated 182 offshore facilities and shut in about a third of oil and gas production in U.S. Gulf of Mexico wells as of Monday.Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Murphy Oil Corp and BP Plc were among the companies that said on Monday they were starting to resume normal operations and return…

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Thursday predicted up to 16 more named tropical storms this year, to as many as 25, the highest in the agency's history.The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1, has already produced nine named tropical storms, two of which reached hurricane strength, including Isaias that lashed the North American Atlantic coast this week."We've never forecast up to 25 named storms, so this is the first time," said Gerry Bell…