Oil, gasoline prices rise as Ida kicks hurricane season into a higher gear

Published

3 years ago

August 31, 2021

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St. Bernard Parish residents fill up their cars and gas cans as the Louisiana coast prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Ida on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 in New Orleans.

Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate via AP

Hurricane Ida temporarily shut down a critical swath of U.S. oil production and refining operations, and that should keep crude and retail gasoline prices at already elevated levels.

Now a tropical storm, Ida swept across the Gulf of Mexico production area before slamming into the Louisiana coast Sunday as a Category 4 storm, bringing torrents of rain, high winds and high tides. More than 1 million Louisiana utility customers were without power early Monday.

The energy industry was working Monday to assess when it could restore refining operations across Louisiana and oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, taken off line as a precautionary measure.

Oil prices were slightly higher Monday, but off their early peak, after jumping 10% last week. However, West Texas Intermediate futures, trading at about $69 Monday, are still down over 6.5% for the month. Nearly all Gulf of Mexico oil production was shut in, accounting for about 15% of the U.S. total.

“The reaction is mixed because we avoided the worst-case scenario,” said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital. “But supplies are tight, and that could impact prices, especially since we are moving into the peak period for storms, and weather worries are going to persist around the market for the next several weeks. As for supply, the cupboard was kind of bare going into this.”

The shut in operations in the Gulf of Mexico should resume to normal if no damage is found. The hit to supplies from the hurricane comes as OPEC+ meets this week.

OPEC+ is widely expected to restore the 400,000 barrels a day of production it had previously committed to return to the market. The Biden administration had asked Saudi Arabia and OPEC for more supply to be restored.

But the cartel and its associates, like Russia, are expected to restore only the planned amount of oil to the market. “They’re not coming to rescue us from $70 oil,” said Kilduff.

Crude inventories are at the lowest level since January 2020. In data reported last week, crude supply fell for a third straight week while fuel demand rose to the highest level since March 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Price impact for Labor Day

Gasoline supplies could also be impacted temporarily by Ida, with refineries shut down across the region. The Colonial Pipeline, a key artery transporting gasoline from Houston, across the South and up to the Northeast, was partially shut down. The pipeline expects to resume service once the system is assessed. Terminals continued to distribute gasoline.

“The consumer should not expect gasoline prices are going to go down this week,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. Analysts expect gasoline prices to rise 5 cents to 10 cents per gallon by the Labor Day weekend for some consumers, particularly in the southern and eastern U.S.

The average national price for unleaded gasoline was $3.15 per gallon Monday, down a penny from a week ago, according to AAA. The price is the highest for a Labor Day weekend in seven years and up sharply from the $2.23 per gallon price at this time last year.

It’s unclear when refining operations will be restored to normal, since it may be difficult to move personnel back to the impacted area.

“Pretty much everything in Baton Rouge, New Orleans area is shut down, representing 12.5% of the nation’s refining capacity,” said Lipow.

Lipow said ExxonMobil is currently shutting down its entire refining operation in Baton Rouge, responsible for 540,000 barrels a day. Two other refineries in Mississippi remain in operation, but the area is under tornado and flood watch, he said. ExxonMobil said its Baton Rouge refinery was not harmed but it is shutting down operations to stabilize them.

Kinder Morgan’s Plantation pipeline, which also takes gasoline across the southeast, was operating Monday, but its Baton Rouge terminal was without power. Lipow said Plantation transports gasoline from Louisiana refineries, while Colonial also receives oil from Texas refineries.

“No facilities, as far as we hear now, appear to have any serious physical damage, which is good news for consumers,” said Kilduff. But the industry is watching to see how soon operations will be restored and whether refineries will be impacted by power outages.

“The electrical situation is the big unknown right now,” said Kilduff. If refineries are impacted, that could mean gasoline prices would rise even more.

Gasoline demand in the U.S. was a strong 9.57 million barrels a day, the Energy Department reported in its most recent weekly data. Weekly refined product demand reached another post pandemic high and a level not seen since August 2019, according to TortoiseEcofin. The top three weekly demand readings for gasoline have been in the last several weeks, it said.

“This holiday weekend, there could be epic gasoline demand if trends hold up,” said Kilduff.

Memories of Katrina

At the same time, the shutdown of economic activity, due to Ida, has resulted in a loss of demand for oil. Tom Kloza, head of global energy research at Oil Price Information Service, said he expects the loss of Gulf of Mexico production to have little impact.

“The demand destruction from Ida is probably a little bit more significant than the lost production that will accrue from the Gulf of Mexico,” he said.

Analysts said the impact of Ida on energy prices was nothing like that of Katrina, which made landfall in Louisiana 16 years ago to the day.

“The storm may draw similarities from a geographical perspective, but the sequel has a less than similar impact on the energy markets than Katrina did,” wrote Michael Tran, commodities strategist at RBC. “In fact, historical rules of thumb have changed. Hurricanes are no longer bullish for oil prices. In fact, storms can actually have longer lasting, medium- term bearish ramifications.”

At the time, the U.S. produced just 5.2 million barrels a day, and the Gulf was responsible for 1.3 million barrels a day, compared to 1.6 million barrels a day.

“Hurricane Katrina devastated offshore oil production in the US Gulf Coast in 2005, prior to the shale revolution when offshore production comprised a much larger portion (nearly 25%) of total US output,” Tran noted.

Environment

YMX Logistics deploys 20 new Orange EV electric yard trucks

Published

7 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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YMX Logistics deploys 20 new Orange EV electric yard trucks

YMX Logistics and Orange EV Join Forces to Deliver Zero Emission Transportation Solutions to Yard Operations Across North America

Leading yard operation 3PL YMX Logistics has announced plans to deploy fully twenty (20) of Orange EV’s fully electric Class 8 terminal trucks at a number of distribution and manufacturing sites across North America.

As the shipping and logistics industries increasingly move to embrace electrification, yard operations have proven to be an almost ideal use case for EVs, enabling companies like Orange EV, which specialize in yard hostlers or terminal tractors, to drive real, impactful change. To that end, companies like YMX are partnering with Orange EV.

“This relationship between YMX and Orange EV is a significant step forward in transforming yard operations across North America,” said Matt Yearling, CEO of YMX Logistics. “Besides the initial benefits of reduction in emissions and carbon footprint, our customers are also seeing improvements in the overall operational efficiency and seeking to expand. Our team members have also been sharing positive feedback about their new equipment and highlighting the positive impact on their health and day-to-day activities.”

This Orange looks good in blue

YMX Logistics electric yard trucks; by Orange EV.

One of the most interesting aspects of this story – beyond the Orange EV HUSK-e XP’s almost unbelievable 180,000 lb. GCWR spec. – is that this isn’t a story about California’s ports, which mandate EVs. Instead, YMX is truly deploying these trucks throughout the country, with at least four currently in Chicago (and more on the way).

“Our collaboration with YMX Logistics represents a powerful stride in delivering sustainable yard solutions at scale for enterprise customers,” explains Wayne Mathisen, CEO of Orange EV. “With rising demand for electric yard trucks, our joint efforts ensure that more companies can access the environmental, financial, and operational benefits of electrification … this is a win for the planet, the workforce, and the bottom line of these organizations.”

We interviewed Orange EV founder Kurt Neutgens on The Heavy Equipment Podcast a few months back, but if you’re not familiar with these purpose-built trucks, it’s worth a listen.

HEP-isode 26

SOURCE | IMAGES: YMX Logistics.

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Environment

Hyundai IONIQ 9 debut, new NACS Kia, solid state batteries from Honda

Published

7 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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Hyundai IONIQ 9 debut, new NACS Kia, solid state batteries from Honda

On today’s thrilling episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got the all-new Hyundai IONIQ 9 and its “a “rolling living room” pivoting captain’s chairs, Kia gets a go-fast 7 passenger SUV and an updated EV6, while Honda announces plans to start producing solid-state batteries at its new facility in just a few weeks.

We’ve also got big news for American workers – a Minnesota power company is ditching coal for solar while ExxonMobil and LG Chem get to work extracting thousands of tons of lithium out of Tennessee’s soil.

Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations sitewide. Learn more by clicking here.

You can watch the episode, below.

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Environment

One of the US’s first solar peaker plants – with Tesla Megapacks – just came online

Published

9 hours ago

November 21, 2024

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One of the US’s first solar peaker plants – with Tesla Megapacks – just came online

Arevon Energy has kicked off operations at Vikings Solar-plus-Storage – one of the US’s first utility-scale solar peaker plants.

The $529 million project in Imperial County, California, near Holtville, features 157 megawatts of solar power paired with 150 megawatts/600 megawatt hours of battery storage.

Vikings Solar-plus-Storage is designed to take cheap daytime solar power and store it for use during more expensive peak demand times, like late afternoons and evenings. The battery storage system can quickly respond to changes in demand, helping tackle critical grid needs.

Vikings leverages provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that support affordable clean energy, strengthen grid resilience, boost US manufacturing, and create good jobs.

The Vikings project has already brought significant benefits to the local area. It employed over 170 people during construction, many local workers, and boosted nearby businesses like restaurants, hotels, and stores. On top of that, Vikings will pay out more than $17 million to local governments over its lifespan.

“Vikings’ advanced design sets the standard for safe and reliable solar-plus-storage configurations,” said Arevon CEO Kevin Smith. “The project incorporates solar panels, trackers, and batteries that showcase the growing strength of US renewable energy manufacturing.”

The project includes Tesla Megapack battery systems made in California, First Solar’s thin-film solar panels, and smart solar trackers from Nextracker. San Diego-based SOLV Energy handled the engineering, procurement, and construction work.

San Diego Community Power (SDCP) will buy the energy from the Vikings project under a long-term deal, helping power nearly 1 million customer accounts. SDCP and Arevon have also signed an agreement for the 200 MW Avocet Energy Storage Project in Carson, California, which will start construction in early 2025.

Vikings is named after the Holtville High School mascot, and Arevon is giving back to the local community by funding scholarships for deserving Holtville High students.

Arevon is a major renewable energy developer across the US and a key player in California, with nearly 2,500 MW in operation and more than 1,250 MW under construction.

If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*

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