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Texas Coast News

21 Aug 2023

Storm Brewing in Gulf of Mexico Set to Strengthen

(Photo: NOAA)

A storm system brewing in the Gulf of Mexico could strengthen into a named storm as it takes aim at the Texas coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Monday.The system, named Potential Tropical Cyclone 9, was about 480 miles (770 km) east-southeast of Port Mansfield, Texas and was packing maximum sustained winds of 30 miles (45 km) per hour, the Miami-based hurricane center said. It could cause coastal flooding along the south Texas coast between Monday night and Tuesday…

25 Jul 2023

Iranian Oil Remains Stuck Off US Coast

A cargo of sanctioned Iranian crude oil that was confiscated by the U.S. has sat off the Texas coast for eight weeks, unable to unload because commercial agents fear any vessel that takes it will be shunned by customers, people familiar with the matter said.Suez Rajan, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, has been anchored off Galveston, about 50 miles (80 km) outside of Houston, since May 30, with ship agents refusing to accept it. The Suezmax requires a lightering agent to transfer the crude to smaller ships, as its size and weight restrict it from directly entering the port.Shipping companies are worried that lightering the Iranian crude onto their vessels would lead other oil buyers to shun their ships on future voyages…

30 Mar 2023

Big Oil Splits Over Production vs Carbon Storage in Gulf of Mexico Auction

Credit: Scott Bufkin/AdobeStock

Exxon Mobil Corp on Wednesday bid for offshore blocks to store carbon dioxide underground during a government oil and gas lease sale in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, while rivals Chevron Corp and BP Plc targeted areas for production.The largest U.S. oil company has been selling oil production blocks in the U.S. Gulf since 2018 as it shifts to more lucrative fields elsewhere. And yet, it bought dozens of blocks in the past couple of years in the same basin with a new purpose: burying carbon dioxide instead of pumping oil.The government oil license auction generated $264 million in high bids…

21 Jun 2022

Tankers Divert to Trinidad, Maryland After Freeport LNG Blast

At least six tankers set to load liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Freeport LNG this month have been diverted following the June 8 blast that shut the Texas facility, Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data showed.A partial restart of the Quintana, Texas, plant is not expected until at least September, the company said last week, leaving about 40 cargoes to be canceled or re-scheduled. The loss has European LNG buyers and some U.S. shale producers reeling, while rivals Cheniere Energy and Sempra LNG rush to produce more LNG to offset the losses.Freeport accounts for roughly 20% of U.S. LNG processing capacity, drawing 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of natural gas, primarily from U.S. shale fields.

28 Feb 2022

Bulk Carrier Crewmember Medevaced off Texas Coast

An ailing mariner was medevaced from a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier anchored off Corpus Christi, Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi command center watchstanders received a medevac request at 1:03 p.m. Friday from the agent of the 260.4-meter Richard Oldendorff off Port Aransas, Texas, stating a crewmember was suffering from a possible leg infection. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac.The Coast Guard Cutter Pelican and a Coast Guard Station Port Aransas 45-foot Response Boat–Medium crew diverted to assist.The Pelican crew took aboard the crewmember and transferred him to the RB–M once it arrived on scene.

28 Feb 2022

Coast Guard Medevacs Oil Worker from Platform Off Louisiana

For Illustration only - U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Levi Read.

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced an oil platform worker last Thursday near Breton Sound, Louisiana.Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a notification at approximately 6:25 p.m. from the oil platform Breton Sound 21 of a  worker sustaining serious injuries to the arm, Coast Guard said Friday.Watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew to assist. The helicopter crew arrived on scene, hoisted the worker, and transferred him to University Medical Center in New Orleans.

25 Feb 2022

VIDEO: Coast Guard Rescues Nine People From Burning Jack-up Rig in Texas

©Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued nine people Thursday from a burning jack-up drilling rig near Sabine Pass, Texas.Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a notification at 12:51 p.m. from the dredging vessel Ohio that the Pride Wisconsin offshore drilling rig was on fire in Sabine Pass with nine people aboard.Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched a Coast Guard Station Sabine Pass 45-foot Response Boat–Medium crew and an Air Station Houston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew to assist.

27 Sep 2021

Army Corps Awards Contract for Corpus Christi Channel Improvement

(Photo: Port of Corpus Christi)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Friday awarded a $139 million construction contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC. (GLDD), to complete the third phase of the landmark Port of Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project (CIP). The four-phase infrastructure project will increase the Corpus Christi Ship Channel depth from -47 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) to -54 feet MLLW and widen it to 530 feet, with an additional 400 feet of barge shelves.Phase 3 will extend west of the La Quinta Junction through the Chemical Turning Basin in the Port’s Inner Harbor.

15 Sep 2021

Texas Ports Reopen for Vessel Traffic After Nicholas

© Stephanie / Adobe Stock

The ports of Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City in Texas on Wednesday lifted the "yankee" status they had set ahead of Hurricane Nicholas, which made landfall on Monday, allowing the resumption of inbound vessel traffic, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Nicholas passed through the Texas coast on Tuesday on its way to Louisiana, causing minor floods and leaving over 400,000 customers without power.

15 Sep 2021

Gulf Coast Oil Firms Return to Ida Recovery as Storm Nicholas Recedes

Royal Dutch Shell halted production at its Perdido offshore oil platform due to heavy winds caused by Nicholas - Image Copyright - Stuart Conway/Shell

Energy companies worked to restore pipeline service and electricity after Tropical Storm Nicholas passed through on Tuesday, allowing them to return to repairing the significant damage caused by Hurricane Ida two weeks ago.Nicholas, downgraded to a tropical depression late Tuesday, caused rain, flooding, and power outages in Texas and Louisiana, where some refineries remained offline in the wake of Hurricane Ida. The earlier storm shuttered most U.S. Gulf offshore oil and gas production.Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S.

14 Sep 2021

Oil Output, Vessel Traffic Halted as Nicholas Lashes Texas

© JACoulter / Adobe Stock

Hurricane Nicholas on Tuesday took another swipe at U.S. Gulf Coast energy facilities, cutting offshore oil and gas output gradually recovering from the last storm and disrupting power to onshore pipeline, gas and chemical plants.Royal Dutch Shell halted production its Perdido offshore oil platform due to heavy winds, and U.S. liquefied natural gas producer Freeport LNG said processing at its Texas coast facility was halted, likely due to a power outage.Power losses briefly cut Colonial Pipeline's main gasoline and diesel lines out of Houston…

13 Sep 2021

Energy Firms Face Another Storm in US Gulf

(Image: NOAA)

Royal Dutch Shell on Monday began evacuating staff from a U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil platform, and other energy companies began preparing for hurricane-force winds from a second Gulf Coast storm in as many weeks.Tropical Storm Nicholas was about 105 miles (115 km) south of Port O'Connor, Texas, and moving north with winds of 60 miles per hour (97 kph). It could become a hurricane just ahead of landfall on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.Waves stirred up by Nicholas neared 12 feet (3.7 m) in height were reported outside of Port Aransas…

13 Sep 2021

Houston Ship Channel Halts Inbound and Outbound Transit

© stagewestphoto / Adobe Stock

The Houston Ship Channel on Monday halted inbound and outbound transit activity head of Tropical Storm Nicholas, a port official said.Nicholas on Monday was making its way towards the southern Texas coast with sustained winds of around 60 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. It could become a hurricane before making landfall.(Reporting by Liz Hampton)

18 Feb 2021

LNG Tankers to Arrive in Mexico's Ports to Offset Gas Shortage Caused by Cold Snap in U.S.

Two tankers carrying U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) for Mexico are expected to arrive on Thursday in the country's Altamira and Manzanillo ports, government officials said and Refinitiv Eikon data showed, part of emergency purchases by the government to ease interrupted gas supplies.Mexico resorted to LNG supplies to partially offset a gas deficit for power generation after cold-weather froze several key gaslines crossing the U.S. border. The governor of Texas on Wednesday banned out-of-state gas supplies through Feb. 21 to prioritize the state's utilities.The Latin American nation is also ramping up electricity generation for its…

23 Nov 2020

Pilot Thomas Logistics Expands Gulf Coast Reach

© RobertCoy / Adobe Stock

Fuel, lubricants and petroleum solutions provider Pilot Thomas Logistics (PTL) and its family of companies including Radcliff/Economy, Maxum Petroleum and Economy Boat Store, announced that PTL has received authorization from MSD Victoria to perform over the water transfers in the Houston-Galveston and Texas City Sectors. The authorization expands and extends the service area that now encompasses the entire Western Gulf Coast from Brownsville, Texas to Lake Charles, La."We’ve had early operational success in Brownsville…

04 Oct 2020

OSV Helps Put Out Boat Fire in Texas

Offshore supply vessel Erin T alongside a fire-stricken boat near the Houston Ship Channel entrance in Galveston, Texas (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

An offshore supply vessel assisted the U.S. Coast Guard in responding to a boat fire Saturday near the Houston Ship Channel entrance in Galveston, Texas.Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston command center watchstanders were notified at 8:37 a.m. by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Daniel Tarr stating they were responding to a blaze aboard a 25-foot pleasure craft with three people aboard.The Daniel Tarr crew arrived on scene and began extinguishing the fire alongside the Erin T, a 33-meter U.S.-flagged offshore supply vessel.

10 Aug 2020

Surveyors Map Sunken Liberty Ship off Texas Coast

(Image: TDI-Brooks)

U.S.-based marine data acquisition services company TDI-Brooks said it recently mapped the Liberty Ship George Vancouver off Freeport, Texas while out on a seabed survey project with the R/V Brooks McCall. The multiple multi-phase geophysical and geotechnical site surveys program consisted of pipeline routing and subsea structures to facilitate route and project design for offshore developers.Equipment used to map the ship was a Teledyne Reson SeaBat T-20 multibeam sonar with integrated Applanix POSMV for Motion.

29 May 2020

VIDEO: U.S. Coast Guard Medevacs Offshore Vessel Worker

Screenshot / USCG

The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday medevaced a crewmember from the offshore support vessel RMS Citation approximately seven miles offshore Corpus Christi, Texas.Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders received a request for medevac for a 45-year-old male who was experiencing arm pain and shortness of breath. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon who recommended the medevac."We are grateful we were able to get the mariner to the medical attention he needed," said Lt. Jake Conrad, Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi MH-65 aircraft commander.

09 Aug 2019

NOAA Increases Odds for 'above-normal' Hurricane Season

CREDIT: NOAA
CREDIT: NOAA

The end of El Nino could boost Atlantic hurricane activity.August 8, 2019 NOAA forecasters monitoring oceanic and atmospheric patterns say conditions are now more favorable for above-normal hurricane activity since El Nino has now ended. Two named storms have formed so far this year and the peak months of the hurricane season, August through October, are now underway.Flooding is always a significant threat during tropical cyclones. In August 2017 Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas…

11 Jul 2019

National Hurricane Center Miami Issues Hurricane Watch

File Image: AdobeStock / © mode list

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for: Mouth of the Pearl River to Intracoastal City. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for: Mouth of the Mississippi River to Cameron. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for: Mouth of the Mississippi River northward to the Mouth of the Pearl River.A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the coastline in the indicated locations during the next 48 hours. For a depiction of areas at risk please see the National Weather Service Storm Surge Watch/Warning Graphic available at hurricanes.gov.

12 Jul 2018

US Oil Exports to India Soar Ahead of Iran Sanctions

© Anatoly Menzhiliy / Adobe Stock

U.S. crude oil exports to India hit a record in June and so far this year are almost double last year's total as the Asian nation's refiners move to replace supplies from Iran and Venezuela in a win for the Trump administration.U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has been pressuring its allies to cut imports of Iranian goods to zero by November and India's shift advances the U.S. administration efforts to use energy to further its political goals.The United States has become a major crude exporter…

05 Jun 2019

Sentinel Secures Commitments for Offshore Crude Terminal

Adobestock / © Jose Gill

Sentinel Midstream LLC has secured shipper commitments needed to move forward on a proposed $1 billion crude export terminal off the Texas coast, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday.The firm's Texas GulfLink project is one of eight proposed U.S. deepwater export projects seeking to load supertankers that carry up to 2 million barrels of crude. Sentinel last week became the fifth to apply for federal permits.Sentinel's offshore facility could begin operations in early 2020 and load up to 2 million bpd from single-point mooring buoys in deepwaters 30 miles off Freeport…

30 Apr 2018

U.S. Ethanol Makers Snap Up Cheap Sorghum after China Tariffs

U.S. ethanol makers have joined global livestock producers to snap up discounted American sorghum supplies after buyers in China backed out of deals due to stiff anti-dumping tariffs on the grain imposed by Beijing in a mounting trade dispute. Sorghum is used to feed animals and represents a fraction of the billions of dollars of goods that move between the world's two largest economies. The trade conflict between the United States and China has already hit shipments of agricultural produce and threatens to disrupt the flow of everything from steel to electronics. China is the biggest buyer of U.S. sorghum, and the exit of Chinese buyers from the market caused sorghum prices to fall.