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It
will take several days for oilfield crews to deice valves,
restart systems and begin oil and gas production. U.S. Gulf
Coast refiners face five- to seven-day restarts with low water
pressure continuing to hamper operations even as power is being
restored, said people familiar with the matter.
Millions of people across Texas shivered in the dark this week
after a severe winter storm laid siege to the state, with demand
for natural gas spiking and supplies needed to power electric
generators and heat homes drying up.
Estimates vary, but the unusually cold weather in Texas and the
Plains states curtailed up to 4 million barrels per day of crude
oil production and 21 billion cubic feet of natural gas,
according to analysts. Texas refiners halted about a fifth of
the nation's oil processing amid power outages and severe cold.
The freeze offs, which can occur when water in the gas turns to
ice, led utilities to call for conservation measures from
California to West Virginia.
Ford Motor Co halted production in Kansas City, Missouri,
because of a lack of natural gas. Mexico, which imports large
volumes of natural gas from the United States, experienced
blackouts in northern states bordering Texas, with some
factories reporting billions in losses on limited natural gas
supplies from Texas.
Texas on Wednesday ordered gas producers to halt exports needed
by state utilities through Sunday, sparking Mexico to call the
U.S. envoy to press for natural gas supplies. But in the U.S.,
the move did not appear to affect deliveries beyond Texas'
borders. California's power exchange and the MISO, an exchange
that handles 15 U.S. states, both said they had not seen any
impact.
More natural gas will soon be flowing. Chevron Corp and
ConocoPhillips have begun restoring shale output, and Chevron
will prioritize natural gas production. Texas oil and gas
regulators and a DiamondBack Energy executive also reported that
power was being restored to west Texas, where oil production was
shut by record snowfall and power outages.
“The majority of our Permian and Eagle Ford volumes remain
offline," said Conoco spokeswoman April Andrews, referring to
the two major Texas shale fields.
Conoco, the top U.S. independent oil producer, is ready to bring
back full operations across its U.S. operations outside of
Alaska once power and other infrastructure outages end, she
said.
(Reporting by Jennifer Hiller, Erwin Seba in Houston and
Stephanie Kelly in New York; writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing
by Leslie Adler)
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