Barge delays at Algiers lock near New Orleans
Barges are facing lengthy delays at the Algiers lock near New Orleans as vessels reroute around closures at the Port Allen lock and the Algiers Canal.
Delays at the Algiers Lock —at the interconnection of the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway— have reached around 37 hours in the past day, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers' lock report. Around 50 vessels are waiting to cross the Algiers lock.
Another 70 vessels were waiting at the nearby Harvey lock with a six-hour wait in the past day.
The closure at Port Allen lock has spurred the delays, causing vessels to reroute through the Algiers lock. The Port Allen lock is expected to reopen on 28 April, which should relieve pressure on the Algiers lock.
Some traffic has been rerouted through the nearby Harvey lock since the Algiers Canal was closed by a collapsed powerline, the US Coast Guard said. The powerline fell on two barges, but no injuries or damages were reported. The wire is being removed by energy company Entergy.
The canal is anticipated to reopen at midnight on 25 April.
Related news posts
Brazil hydroelectric dam bursts under record rains
Brazil hydroelectric dam bursts under record rains
Sao Paulo, 3 May (Argus) — Brazilian power generation company Companhia Energetica Rio das Antas (Ceran) found a partial rupture in its 100MW 14 de Julho hydroelectric plant following record precipitation in Rio Grande do Sul state. Flooding from the record rains has left 37 dead and forced more than 23,000 people out of their homes, causing widespread damage across the state, including washed out bridges and roads across several cities. Ceron reported that the dam of the hydroelectric plant on the Antas River suffered a rupture under the heavy rains and the company implemented an emergency evacuation plan on 1 May. Ceron's 130MW Monte Claro and 130MW Castro Alves plants are under intense monitoring, the company said in a statement. Rio Grande do Sul state governor Eduardo Leite declared a state of emergency and the federal government promised to release funding for emergency disaster relief. Leite said the flooding will likely go down as the worst environmental disaster in the state's history. Brazil's southernmost state along the border with Argentina has been punished by record precipitation over the past year owing to the effects of the strong El Nino weather phenomenon, according to Rio Grande do Sul-based weather forecaster MetSul Meteorologia. Brazilian power company CPFL Energia controls Ceran with a 65pc equity stake. Energy company CEEE-GT, which is owned by steel manufacturer CSN, owns another 30pc, and Norway's Statkraft owns the remaining 5pc. The state had declared a state of emergency as recently as September 2023 because of unusually heavy rains that resulted in the death of more than 30 people. Weather forecasters expect El Nino conditions to abate in the coming months over the eastern Pacific. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil's Gerdau eyes special steel mill in Mexico
Brazil's Gerdau eyes special steel mill in Mexico
Sao Paulo, 3 May (Argus) — Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau is considering building another steel plant in Mexico as it seeks to expand its footprint in the country. The company started a feasibility study for the construction of a special steel unit that would have a production capacity of up to 600,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr, chief executive Gustavo Werneck said today. The move follows an optimistic outlook for the country's automotive industry and increased nearshoring — where companies move production closer to the US to tackle supply chain snarls seen during the pandemic. "Important players in the automotive industry, including current Gerdau customers, are expanding their operations to Mexico, which is becoming one of the most relevant countries in the production of automotive parts," Werneck said on a LinkedIn post. He did not give financial details. Gerdau's first quarter crude steel production in North America fell by 2.8pc , but it posted 3.3pc output growth in its special steel business — which includes operations in Brazil and US — mainly driven by automobile production in Brazil, it said. Mexico's auto sales to the US were 0.9pc higher year-on-year in March and first quarter auto exports rose by 1.9pc from the same period of 2023. Gerdau operates two mills in Mexico with a combined nameplate capacity of 1.5mn t/yr. By Carolina Pulice Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Chevron’s oily DJ basin buy boosts gas output
Chevron’s oily DJ basin buy boosts gas output
New York, 3 May (Argus) — Chevron's US natural gas production has surged in recent quarters due to its crude-focused acquisition of Denver-based PDC Energy last August, increasing the oil major's exposure to the US gas market months after that market entered an extended price slump. Chevron's US gas production in the first quarter was 2.7 Bcf/d (76mn m3/d), up by 53pc from the year-earlier quarter and the highest since at least 2021, according to company production data. Chevron's total US output rose by 35pc year-over-year to 1.57 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d), while US crude output increased by 21pc to 779,000 b/d. The acreage Chevron picked up last year in the DJ basin of northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming has higher gas-oil ratios than the rest of its US portfolio. Chevron mostly focuses US production in the crude-rich Permian basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico. Since Chevron closed its acquisition of PDC on 7 August, US gas prices have mostly languished in loss-making territory. Prompt-month Nymex gas settlements at the US benchmark Henry Hub from 7 August 2023 to 2 May 2024 averaged $2.46/mmBtu, down from an average of $4.999/mmBtu in the year-earlier period. In a May 2023 conference call over Chevron's acquisition of PDC, chief executive Mike Wirth expressed optimism for the long-run outlook for natural gas, despite the more immediately dim outlook. "There's going to be stronger global demand for gas growth than there will be for oil over the next decade and beyond as the world looks to decarbonize," Wirth said. Despite lower US gas prices, Chevron has captured $600mn in cost savings from the PDC acquisition between capital and operational expenditures, the company told Argus . Crude prices have also been more resilient. Chevron's profit in the first quarter was $5.5bn, down from $6.6bn in the year-earlier quarter, partly due to lower gas prices. US gas prices have been lower this year as unseasonably warm winter weather and resilient production have created an oversupplied US gas market. A government report Thursday showed US gas inventories up by 35pc from the five-year average. By Julian Hast Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US job growth nearly halved in April: Update
US job growth nearly halved in April: Update
Adds services PMI in first, fifth paragraphs, factory PMI reference in sixth paragraph. Houston, 3 May (Argus) — The US added fewer jobs in April as the unemployment rate ticked up and average earnings growth slowed, signs of gradually weakening labor market conditions. A separate survey showed the services sector contracted last month. The US added 175,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department reported today, fewer than the 238,000 analysts anticipated. That compared with an upwardly revised 315,000 jobs in March and a downwardly revised 236,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9pc from 3.8pc. The unemployment rate has ranged from 3.7-3.9pc since August 2023, near the five-decade low of 3.4pc. The latest employment report comes after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its target lending rate unchanged for a sixth time and signaled it would be slower in cutting rates from two-decade highs as the labor market has remained "strong" and inflation, even while easing, is "still too high". US stocks opened more than 1pc higher today after the jobs report and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.47pc. Futures markets showed odds of a September rate cut rose by about 10 percentage points to about 70pc after the report. Services weakness Another report today showed the biggest segment of the economy contracted last month. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) services purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 49.4 in April from 51.4 in March, ending 15 months of expansion. The services PMI employment index fell to 45.9, the fourth contraction in five months, in today's report. Readings below 50 signal contraction. On 1 May, ISM reported that the manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in April, after one month of growth following 16 months of contraction. In today's employment report from the Labor Department, average hourly earnings grew by 3.9pc over the 12 month period, down from 4.1pc in the period ended in March. Job gains in the 12 months through March averaged 242,000. Gains, including revisions, averaged 276,000 in the prior three-month period. Job gains occurred in health care, social services and transportation and warehousing. Health care added 56,000 jobs, in line with the gains over the prior 12 months. Transportation and warehousing added 22,000, also near the 12-month average. Retail trade added 20,000. Construction added 9,000 following 40,000 in March. Government added 8,000, slowing from an average of 55,000 in the prior 12 months. Manufacturing added 9,000 jobs after posting 4,000 jobs the prior month. Mining and logging lost 3,000 jobs. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more