Epoxy
September 15, 2021
Hurricane Nicholas Overview
Minimal impact to plant ops after Nicholas arrives as Category 1 hurricane
Author: Adam Yanelli
2021/09/14
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Refineries and chemical plants in the US Gulf appeared to have sustained minimal damage as Hurricane Nicholas made landfall late Monday night as a category 1 storm near Matagorda, Texas.
ExxonMobil said its Texas refineries and chemical complexes in Baytown and Beaumont are operating as normal and that there was no significant damage or flooding at the sites.
Shell is conducting a thorough post-storm damage assessment at its complex in Deer Park, Texas.
“At this early stage there does not appear to be serious damage from wind, rain or storm surge. Operations at the facility remain normal,” the company said.
LyondellBasell safely shut down its Matagorda Complex in Bay City, Texas, because of widespread power outages in the region.
The company said its Houston, Texas, refinery and other Gulf coast facilities were operating normally.
CITGO said its refineries in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana, are operating normally.
Ascend said its operations at its Cedar Bayou acrylonitrile plant are normal.
All three trains at Freeport LNG are offline as of 14 September, according to a Freeport LNG spokeswoman, likely related to power issues.
STORM UPDATE
According to the National Hurricane Center, the system could continue to generate heavy rainfall as it moves to the northeast.
As of 16:00 GMT, the system was moving slowly across the Houston metropolitan area at about 6 miles/hour, with maximum sustained winds of 45 miles/hour (75km/hour).
A category 1 storm is defined by having maximum sustained winds of at least 74 miles/hour according to the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Rainfall totals for the region are expected to be around 5-10 inches, with as much as 20 inches in some regions, according to the National Weather Service.
Electrical service provider CenterPoint Energy reported about 440,000 customers without power as of Tuesday morning.
CenterPoint crews have begun damage assessments and the service restoration process.
The restoration process begins with facilities vital to safety, health and welfare, such as hospitals, water treatment plants and public service facilities, the company said.
Further south in the Corpus Christi area, power provider AEP Texas said Nicholas damaged transmission lines and that at least 13 substations were offline as of Tuesday morning, causing power outages to about 13,500 customers in Matagorda County.
“Damage assessment teams will continue to identify downed utility poles, power lines and other safety hazards as crews begin the restoration process today,” AEP Texas said.
RAILROADS
Union Pacific (UP) suspended local operations temporarily at the Settegast and Englewood intermodal ramps in the Houston area on Monday evening but said it would reopen on Tuesday morning.
The company took steps to address potential outages including generators at strategic locations, private on call contractors to support network outages and positioning track inspections ahead of trains following flash flooding events.
PORTS
Some ports in the Texas Gulf Coast region and southwestern Louisiana are closed.
According to the US Coast Guard (USCG), the closed Texas ports include Beaumont/Port Arthur, Galveston, Freeport and Houston, as well as the ports of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The port in Corpus Christi, Texas, has resumed operations after they were suspended on Monday.
Port Houston said its terminals will remain closed on Tuesday and resume normal operations on Wednesday. This included the Turning Basin Terminal, Barbours Cut and Bayport Container Terminals.
Additional reporting by Janet Miranda, Ruth Liao, Anna Matherne, Zachary Moore and Deniz Koray
September 14, 2021
Houston Port Update
Port Houston to close terminals to prepare for Tropical Storm Nicholas
Flash flooding, storm surge, tornadoes possible across Texas Gulf Coast
Noi MahoneyMonday, September 13, 2021 1 minute read
Port Houston will close its container terminals in preparation for Tropical Storm Nicholas, which is expected to produce a significant flooding threat around the greater Houston area.
The Bayport, Barbours Cut and Turning Basin container terminals will cease ingate operations at 3 p.m. Monday, the port announced on its website.
“Multi-purpose facilities will continue operating at normal hours [Monday],” port officials said in a statement. “We are continuing to monitor conditions and will communicate about a possible noon Tuesday reopening.”
The Port of Corpus Christi and the Port of Freeport remain open at this time.
As of 1:45 p.m. ET on Monday, Tropical Storm Nicholas was centered 55 miles northeast of the Texas-Mexico border, heading north at 12 mph.
Tropical Storm Nicholas could bring flash flooding, a storm surge and tornadoes across the Texas Gulf Coast. The storm could bring 8 to 16 inches of rain and wind gusts of up to 70 mph.
The Texas coast is under a tropical storm warning, with a hurricane watch from Corpus Christi to Galveston. A storm surge warning covers the area north of Corpus Christi, to Galveston and all the way to the Texas-Louisiana border.
Landfall is expected to occur in the vicinity of Matagorda Bay Monday afternoon or evening. Matagorda Bay is about 108 miles southwest of Houston and 80 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.
Click for more FreightWaves articles by Noi Mahoney.
September 14, 2021
Houston Port Update
Port Houston to close terminals to prepare for Tropical Storm Nicholas
Flash flooding, storm surge, tornadoes possible across Texas Gulf Coast
Noi MahoneyMonday, September 13, 2021 1 minute read
Port Houston will close its container terminals in preparation for Tropical Storm Nicholas, which is expected to produce a significant flooding threat around the greater Houston area.
The Bayport, Barbours Cut and Turning Basin container terminals will cease ingate operations at 3 p.m. Monday, the port announced on its website.
“Multi-purpose facilities will continue operating at normal hours [Monday],” port officials said in a statement. “We are continuing to monitor conditions and will communicate about a possible noon Tuesday reopening.”
The Port of Corpus Christi and the Port of Freeport remain open at this time.
As of 1:45 p.m. ET on Monday, Tropical Storm Nicholas was centered 55 miles northeast of the Texas-Mexico border, heading north at 12 mph.
Tropical Storm Nicholas could bring flash flooding, a storm surge and tornadoes across the Texas Gulf Coast. The storm could bring 8 to 16 inches of rain and wind gusts of up to 70 mph.
The Texas coast is under a tropical storm warning, with a hurricane watch from Corpus Christi to Galveston. A storm surge warning covers the area north of Corpus Christi, to Galveston and all the way to the Texas-Louisiana border.
Landfall is expected to occur in the vicinity of Matagorda Bay Monday afternoon or evening. Matagorda Bay is about 108 miles southwest of Houston and 80 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.
Click for more FreightWaves articles by Noi Mahoney.
September 14, 2021
Hurricane Nicholas Update
Tropical Storm Nicholas could strengthen into hurricane before reaching Texas coast
Author: Janet Miranda
2021/09/13
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Tropical Storm Nicholas continues to strengthen as it moves towards the Texas coast and could be near hurricane strength before reaching the Texas coast late Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The tropical storm is located about 85 miles (137 km) south-southwest of Matagorda, Texas. Maximum sustained winds have increased to 65 miles/hour (105 km/hour).
Nicholas is moving towards the north-northeast and it is forecasted to keep moving in this direction through tonight. Strengthening is expected in the meantime, although the storm should weaken by Tuesday and Wednesday as it moves inland.
The following map shows the forecasted path of the storm.
Source: NHC
Nicholas is expected to produce high winds, heavy rains and the possibility of storm surges across the impacted region.
About 6 to 12 inches of rain is expected, with isolated amounts up to 18 inches across portions of the Texas coast.
Interior southeast Texas is forecasted to see totals of 4 to 8 inches, with localised flooding reaching up to 10 inches through Thursday.
Life-threatening flash floods could occur in metropolitan areas across the upper Texas Gulf Coast and in southwestern Louisiana, the NHC said.
Tropical Storm Nicholas could disrupt operations at several chemical plants, refineries and terminals that export oil, fuel and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the Texas coast.
US liquefied natural gas (LNG) production did not appear to be immediately threatened, as feedgas to Freeport LNG and Corpus Christi in Texas remained stable from the previous day for 13 September.
Daylight-only transits were advised by Sabine pilots on 13 September, as two loadings took place from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
Two LNG vessels were in port at Freeport LNG by mid-day and another vessel was loading at Cameron LNG on 13 September.
Nicholas comes 15 days after Hurricane Ida made landfall in neighbouring Louisiana.
The hurricane caused a large reduction in the production of US Gulf offshore oil and natural gas due to damage to key ports in southeastern Louisiana and equipment for offshore production.
Hurricane Ida winds and rainfall knocked out power in the region and caused plant outages across affected areas, further tightening key US chemicals and polymer markets, although the impact was less severe than from Winter Storm Uri.
PORT CONDITIONS
Ports in the Texas and west Louisiana gulf region are on watch as Tropical Storm Nicholas nears landfall in the area late Monday.
All shipping ports listed below remain open, with Corpus Christi and Freeport, Texas, likely to be most impacted by the storm.
- Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Galveston, Texas
- Freeport, Texas
- Houston, Texas
- Lake Charles, Louisiana
Freeport is expected to close temporarily late evening on 13 September and reopen on 15 September, according to shipping agent GAC North America.
In Houston, the container terminals have ceased ingate operations through Tuesday morning, Port Houston said.
Additional reporting by Ruth Liao, Anna Matherne
September 14, 2021
Hurricane Nicholas Update
Tropical Storm Nicholas could strengthen into hurricane before reaching Texas coast
Author: Janet Miranda
2021/09/13
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Tropical Storm Nicholas continues to strengthen as it moves towards the Texas coast and could be near hurricane strength before reaching the Texas coast late Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The tropical storm is located about 85 miles (137 km) south-southwest of Matagorda, Texas. Maximum sustained winds have increased to 65 miles/hour (105 km/hour).
Nicholas is moving towards the north-northeast and it is forecasted to keep moving in this direction through tonight. Strengthening is expected in the meantime, although the storm should weaken by Tuesday and Wednesday as it moves inland.
The following map shows the forecasted path of the storm.
Source: NHC
Nicholas is expected to produce high winds, heavy rains and the possibility of storm surges across the impacted region.
About 6 to 12 inches of rain is expected, with isolated amounts up to 18 inches across portions of the Texas coast.
Interior southeast Texas is forecasted to see totals of 4 to 8 inches, with localised flooding reaching up to 10 inches through Thursday.
Life-threatening flash floods could occur in metropolitan areas across the upper Texas Gulf Coast and in southwestern Louisiana, the NHC said.
Tropical Storm Nicholas could disrupt operations at several chemical plants, refineries and terminals that export oil, fuel and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the Texas coast.
US liquefied natural gas (LNG) production did not appear to be immediately threatened, as feedgas to Freeport LNG and Corpus Christi in Texas remained stable from the previous day for 13 September.
Daylight-only transits were advised by Sabine pilots on 13 September, as two loadings took place from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
Two LNG vessels were in port at Freeport LNG by mid-day and another vessel was loading at Cameron LNG on 13 September.
Nicholas comes 15 days after Hurricane Ida made landfall in neighbouring Louisiana.
The hurricane caused a large reduction in the production of US Gulf offshore oil and natural gas due to damage to key ports in southeastern Louisiana and equipment for offshore production.
Hurricane Ida winds and rainfall knocked out power in the region and caused plant outages across affected areas, further tightening key US chemicals and polymer markets, although the impact was less severe than from Winter Storm Uri.
PORT CONDITIONS
Ports in the Texas and west Louisiana gulf region are on watch as Tropical Storm Nicholas nears landfall in the area late Monday.
All shipping ports listed below remain open, with Corpus Christi and Freeport, Texas, likely to be most impacted by the storm.
- Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Galveston, Texas
- Freeport, Texas
- Houston, Texas
- Lake Charles, Louisiana
Freeport is expected to close temporarily late evening on 13 September and reopen on 15 September, according to shipping agent GAC North America.
In Houston, the container terminals have ceased ingate operations through Tuesday morning, Port Houston said.
Additional reporting by Ruth Liao, Anna Matherne
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