Factbox: U.S. Gulf Coast energy infrastructure shut due to Harvey

Several refineries and portions of key pipelines had resumed operations as of Tuesday, while terminals, drilling platforms and other facilities were working to restart after the storm knocked out roughly 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity, or nearly 23 percent of total U.S. capacity.

As of Tuesday, about 3.8 million barrels of daily refining capacity, or about 20 percent, was shut in, though a number of the refineries in that group were in the process of restarting. Several others, including Marathon's Galveston Bay and Citgo's Corpus Christi refineries, were running at reduced rates, according to company reports and Reuters estimates. 

Motiva Enterprises said it could return to 40 percent production at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the nation's largest with capacity of 603,000 barrels a day, by the end of this weekend. Motiva is waiting on the restoration of shipping and pipelines to begin the partial restart, sources said.

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/latestnews/2017/09/05/Factbox-US-Gulf-Coast-energy-infrastructure-shut-due-Harvey

Exxon Mobil : Biggest U.S. Refinery May Stay Shut Until Weekend

The biggest refinery in the U.S. may only be running at 40% of its operating capacity by the end of this weekend, according to the plant's owner, Motiva. 

The 600,000-barrel-a-day fuel-making factory in Port Arthur, Texas, had to shut down as Hurricane Harvey flooded the area. The company gave an update Tuesday that said it was in the initial restart phase, six days after taking the plant down due to massive flooding in the area. 

"The refinery is in the final phases of equipment assessments and initial phases of refinery start up," said Motiva, which is owned by Saudi Arabia's state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco. "We expect the refinery to initially return to approximately 40% production by the end of this weekend, provided that the final assessments meet our operational standards." 

The Port Arthur refinery, 90 miles east of Houston, is in an area that suffered 24 inches of rainfall in 24 hours. The company cited "local flood conditions" when it shut down this past Wednesday.

http://www.4-traders.com/WTI-2355639/news/Exxon-Mobil-Biggest-U-S-Refinery-May-Stay-Shut-Until-Weekend-25057269/

Largest U.S. refiner shutting as Harvey hits fuel-making hub

Harvey’s second landfall, hitting southwest Louisiana near the Texas border, expanded the growing list of damaged oil refineries, shutting down two key plants, including America’s largest.

The latest hit list potentially reduces U.S. fuel-making capacity to the lowest since 2008, following Hurricane Ike. Motiva Enterprises’s Port Arthur facility in Texas, the biggest U.S. refinery, is shutting because of severe flooding, said a person with knowledge of the operations. Total SA’s refinery in Port Arthur is out with a power loss, a person familiar with that plant said. Those plants are less than 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the tropical storm’s 4 a.m. Wednesday landfall just west of Cameron, Louisiana.

The two refineries join more than a dozen others with a combined ability to produce more than 4 million barrels a day, or about 23 percent of U.S. capacity, that are at least partially offline. Gasoline futures are at the highest in two years, and the fuel’s premium to crude is at a 16-month high.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/nation-and-world/largest-us-refiner-shutting-as-harvey-hits-fuel-making-hub-20170905

Texans set to return to work as recovery picks up

Texas takes another step toward recovery from Hurricane Harvey on Tuesday when many residents return to work for the first time since the storm devastated the Houston area, killing around 60 people and putting tens of thousands into emergency shelters. 

Many large Texas employers, universities and transit services are reopening or beginning full service on Tuesday after Labor Day, some for the first time since Harvey struck the state on Aug. 25. 

Oil refineries, pipelines and shipping channels in the nation's energy center have begun a gradual return of operations. 

Exxon Mobil, Halliburton and Chevron are among the scores of Houston businesses reopening their doors to office workers. Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi and the University of Houston also are resuming classes Tuesday.

http://www.petroleumworld.com/story17090604.htm

Helicopters air drop supplies to affected farmers after Harvey

The Army National Guard has been delivering hay to livestock in flooded areas around Houston and Beaumont.

"The request came down from some local ranchers that the cows had been underwater for a couple of weeks, standing in water, and nothing to eat," explained Chief Warrant Officer Randolph Robinson. It's still too early to calculate Harvey's total impact on livestock, but state officials say there are at least 1.2 million beef cows that graze in affected counties.

http://abc13.com/helicopters-air-drop-supplies-to-farmers-after-harvey/2380286/

Beaumont Evacuees Return Home to Devastation

People near Beaumont are being allowed back into their homes a week after Harvey. People lined up along a stretch of Highway 105 to reach their homes after several neighborhoods reopened. Beaumont resident Cliff Johnson checked on the people until a go ahead to go back to the neighborhood was given. Inside his home, Johnson finds a mess of broken furniture, soggy fixtures and lost heirlooms. He said he looked out for his neighbors and held on as long as he could. “I was the third or fourth to the last. So, at least I found out there were three or four more hardheaded than me out here,”

http://www.krgv.com/story/36296065/beaumont-evacuees-return-home-to-devastation

The Latest: Nation's biggest refinery starts revving up

The nation's largest oil refinery is starting to reboot after shutting down ahead of Harvey's onslaught. Motiva Enterprises says its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery should be running at 40 percent of capacity by Monday, producing more fuel than other refineries running at full throttle. At full capacity, the Saudi company's Port Arthur facility can process more than 600,000 barrels of oil per day — equivalent to 25.2 million gallons (95.4 liters).

http://www.readingeagle.com/ap/article/the-latest-nations-biggest-refinery-starts-revving-up

Planes, trucks and tankers putting Houston back in business

Houston's roads, skies and waterways saw increased traffic Tuesday as some of the city's biggest industries continued a slow march toward business as usual. United and Southwest airlines operated more robust schedules, oil tankers headed toward the shoreline and ship movements returned to nearly normal levels at the Port of Houston. "Things are getting back to normal," said Capt. Mike Cunningham, director of program management at the Greater Houston Port Bureau. "There are more and more vessel transits every day."

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/article/Planes-trucks-and-tankers-putting-Houston-back-12175204.php

Port Arthur cleans up after Harvey amid criticism of preparations, drainage

Everywhere you look in Port Arthur you see mountains of things that were once pieces of people’s lives. Beds they slept on, couches they sat on…maybe to watch TV. Pianos they played that are now waterlogged and…silent. For some Port Arthur residents, this was their first day back after fleeing their homes. What they saw was as depressing as what they had been through.Harvey wasn’t discriminating. Besides creating catastrophic conditions and raising the misery factor for people from all walks of life the storm had some people saying the city hadn’t done enough to prepare people for the storm.

http://www.foxla.com/news/278844568-story

Orange residents: 'Waiting for the water to go down’

As floodwaters from Harvey recede in Orange, residents who didn't evacuate are regaining their self-sufficiency. Walton Young and Pete Lawrence, neighbors on Travis Street in West Orange, use a boat to travel between their homes and Lawrence's truck in the middle of their road. Brandon David Alleman and his son, Brandon Lane Alleman, ride their bicycles through water to pick up supplies at a store near downtown Orange.

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Orange-residents-Waiting-for-the-water-to-go-12175166.php