Brief analysis

12 September 2024

Data source: US Energy Information Administration
Note: Forecast status is September 12, 2024, 9:45 a.m. LNG=liquefied natural gas

Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday before being downgraded to a tropical storm, knocking out much of the energy infrastructure along the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Alabama. For detailed information on energy infrastructure and storm risks, see our regularly updated U.S. Energy Atlas.

• Electricity: As of Thursday morning, more than 450,000 homes were without power, mostly in southwest Louisiana. The rest of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are also experiencing power outages, and more are expected as the storm progresses. The outages could last up to 10 days. Currently, generator operations are not shut down, but Entergy’s nuclear power plants have begun storm-fighting operations.




• Offshore oil and gas production: Offshore oil and natural gas operators halted production as the storm approached. About 42% of crude oil and 53% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico were offline as of Thursday afternoon, according to data from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Operators of 169 offshore oil and natural gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico evacuated their personnel, according to BSEE.




• Refining and crude oil exports: Several refineries around Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and New Orleans, which have a combined refining capacity of about 3 million barrels per day (b/d), or nearly one-sixth of the U.S. refining capacity, appear to be operating at reduced output. Most notably, ExxonMobil has reduced refining activity at its 523,000 b/d Baton Rouge refinery. Several ports on the U.S. Gulf Coast, which account for over 95% of the U.S.’s 4 million barrels of crude exports, have either closed or imposed restrictions.




• LNG exports: The hurricane’s path did not have the same impact on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals. Terminals in South Texas continued operations and ports were open with restrictions. In South Louisiana, natural gas shipments to Cameron LNG declined ahead of the hurricane’s landfall, falling 60% (1.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d)) on Thursday, down from 2.2 Bcf/d on Sunday, September 8. The ports of Cameron and Lake Charles were closed but are being evaluated for reopening.

Hurricanes can have different impacts on energy infrastructure depending on their severity and location.

In July, Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas. Although the hurricane weakened to a tropical storm within hours, its impact on energy infrastructure along the U.S. Gulf Coast continued to be felt for several days.

• Electricity: About 2.7 million electric customers in Texas were without power due to damage to energy infrastructure such as transmission and distribution lines, some for more than a week. CenterPoint Energy, the utility that suffered most of the damage, had to make $1.3 billion in repairs.




• Offshore oil and gas production: Hurricane Beryl struck the western part of the Gulf of Mexico, an area with fewer offshore production platforms; at the peak of Beryl production, less than 10% of crude oil and natural gas production was idle.




• Refining and crude oil exports: Refinery utilization on the U.S. Gulf Coast fell to 93% from 97% in the week ended July 12 as power outages forced some refineries, including Marathon’s 593,000 barrel-per-day Galveston Bay refinery, to temporarily cut production. Power outages also caused Explorer Pipeline to temporarily halt operations between Texas and Oklahoma.




• LNG exports: Natural gas deliveries to LNG terminals in South Texas declined at the time of Hurricane Beryl, mainly because Freeport LNG, located south of Houston, shut down operations as a precautionary measure before the hurricane made landfall. Freeport LNG restarted all three liquefaction trains on July 28. US LNG exports in July averaged 11.1 Bcf/d, 7% lower than exports in June.

AccuWeather meteorologists recently revised their forecast for the number of named storms this year downward, following a relatively quiet August and early September.

Main responsible persons: Elesia Fasching, Jimmy Troderman, Laia Munoz-Cortijo, Katy Fleury, Susanna Smith