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Permalink Reply by Bacon on February 3, 2011 at 6:23

For this thread, lets try and stay on topic.  Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by jffree1 on February 2, 2011 at 9:28

UPDATE 1-Cold shuts 600 mmcfd of Texas gas output - Bentek

Wed Feb 2, 2011 1:01pm EST

 *ERCOT imposes rolling blackouts

 *More natural gas likely frozen in

 (Recasts, updates with comment from Bentek analyst, adds
details; adds byline)

 By Jeanine Prezioso

 NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Freezing weather in Texas has
forced the shut in of at least 600 million cubic feet per day
of natural gas production across three basins, according to
data from Bentek Energy.

 Bentek said production fell sharply between Monday and
Tuesday as temperatures plummeted. As of Wednesday morning, the
natural gas analytics company said output had not been fully
restored.

 It was unclear which wells were frozen in and how long it
would take before production would be fully back online.

 In the Fort Worth Basin in north central Texas where the
Barnett shale is located, some 220 million cubic feet per day
remained shut in as of early Wednesday. About 250 mmmcfd was
frozen in on Tuesday, Bentek data showed, with a little more
than 10 percent of it back online on Wednesday.

 In East Texas, where the Haynesville and Bossier shales are
located, production dropped by about 250 mmcfd and had not
returned as of Wednesday, the data showed.

 Chesapeake Energy (CHK.N) is a large producer in those
areas but declined to comment.

 In the Texas Gulf Coast where the Eagle Ford Shale is
located, about 215 mmcfd was shut in between Tuesday and
Wednesday.

 Many of the shale gas plays are liquids rich and freeze
fairly quickly.

 "Liquids rich gas is susceptible to freeze offs because it
has a higher dew point," said Matt Marshall, senior energy
analyst with Bentek in Evergreen, Colorado.

 Texas is responsible for 30 percent of the total U.S. gas
production, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration
data.

 The Texas grid operator imposed rolling blackouts on
Wednesday as cold weather-related snags knocked out power
across the state [ID:nN02197049].

 More natural gas from other basins is likely shut in in
other parts of the Southwestern U.S., Marshall added, but he
did not have figures immediately available.

 Below is a table of the basins affected by the cold, and
the volume of gas estimated to be shut in.

 Bentek was purchased in January by Platts.

                     PRODUCTION SHUT IN
BASIN                        (mmcf/d) 
Forth Worth                    220    
East Texas                     250    
Texas Gulf Coast (onshore)     215    
(Reporting by Jeanine Prezioso; Editing by David Gregorio)

 

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Permalink Reply by P.G. on February 2, 2011 at 9:41

I wonder how they prevent freeze ups up north where these temps are normal?

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Permalink Reply by Max on February 2, 2011 at 10:01

Insulation, freeze protection and sometimes internal heaters.

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Permalink Reply by jffree1 on February 2, 2011 at 10:02

I wondered the same thing, PG.  Austin initiated rolling blackouts this morning except for downtown.

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Permalink Reply by benny688 on February 2, 2011 at 13:55

Rolling blackouts all the way down in Corpus Christi this morning.  My grandson said they are comfortable and safe by hooking up their ng space heaters that require no electricity.

 

Meanwhile, Corpus is pretty much expected to be shut down over power outages and icy roads by Friday morning.

 

GLTA

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Permalink Reply by Gale on February 2, 2011 at 18:13

Houston has had the same issues. Rolling power outages. I remember a few years back when california under bought gas and found themselves in blackouts

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Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on February 3, 2011 at 9:21

Some of this is reminiscent of the California/Enron power outages around 2000.  If you take the emphasis off of reliable utilities and allow deregulation/Wall Street types to take over, reliability suffers.

 

I read somewhere that the electrical power outages were affecting natgas distribution facilities as well.

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Permalink Reply by ALongview on February 3, 2011 at 13:27

We have 14000 customers without gas here in sunny Tucson Arizona(we are one).  10 degrees and no heat.  SW Gas says that El Paso Pipeline is shifting all they can spare from New Mexico to get us back up and running but it may be Saturday morning before the heat comes back on.

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on February 3, 2011 at 17:33

AL, the system in the Southwest is really being stretched due to all the shut-in gas production.  The limited gas storage capacity doesn't help either.  I think even SoCalGas & SDG&E are being challenged to maintain service.

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on February 3, 2011 at 17:30

Mac, this is nothing like the Enron situation in California.  This is about utility infrastructure which is highly regulated.  Other issues are related to production shut-ins caused by the weather which cannot be avoided.  

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Permalink Reply by Bacon on February 4, 2011 at 3:32

So next couple weeks storage reports should goose prices?  I'm wondering when the hurricanes come through the gulf, what kind of drop in production do you normally see?  They said 250 mm a day was shut in because of the cold.  How does that compare?

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