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Tropical storm warning for South Texas coast: Update

  • Spanish Market: Crude oil, Freight, Natural gas
  • 18/06/24

Updates with closure of Galveston, Texas City ports.

A tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of south Texas and northeastern Mexico, bringing with it the risk of heavy rainfall and flooding.

The warning is in effect for the Texas coast from Port O'Connor south to the mouth of the Rio Grande, as well as the northeastern coast of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center.

"The disturbance is very large with rainfall, coastal flooding, and wind impacts likely to occur far from the center along the coasts of Texas and northeastern Mexico," the center said overnight.

Maximum sustained winds this morning remained near 40 mph and the disturbance is forecast to become a tropical storm by Wednesday. The system has been classified as a potential tropical cyclone by the center since it has not yet become better organized, but is expected to become the first named storm system of the year by early Wednesday.

The port of Corpus Christi in South Texas and the Houston Ship Channel remained open as of Tuesday morning, but the nearby ports of Galveston and Texas City closed to inbound and outbound shipping traffic at 10pm ET Monday due to heavy weather, the US Coast Guard said.

The system was expected to disrupt ship-to-ship transfer operations off the Texas coast as of Monday evening because of heavy seas. In the Gulf of Mexico, the transfer typically is from an Aframax or Suezmax onto a very large crude carrier (VLCC) at designated lightering zones near Corpus Christi, Galveston and Beaumont-Port Arthur.

Prolonged lightering delays can prevent crude tanker tonnage from becoming available and exert upward pressure on freight rates, while also adding to demurrage fees.

The storm is expected to turn towards the west-northwest and west tonight and Wednesday, with the system forecast to approach the western Gulf coast late Wednesday, the NHC said.

Rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches are seen across northeast Mexico into South Texas, with maximum totals of 15 inches possible. Flash and urban flooding are likely to follow with river flooding.


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11/02/25

Texas ports reopen after fog: Update

Texas ports reopen after fog: Update

Updates status of Houston Ship Channel and Sabine-Neches Waterway Houston, 11 February (Argus) — Vessel movements at the Houston Ship Channel and nearby ports resumed today after closing Monday night due to fog, a ship agent said. The Houston Pilots Association, which services vessels entering or departing the port of Houston, resumed boardings for all traffic at 2:05pm ET Tuesday after opening to only outbound traffic at 10:45am ET, the US Coast Guard said. Pilots also resumed service at the nearby ports of Galveston and Texas City after closing Monday. The port of Freeport, Texas, remained open, the ship agent said. Pilot service at the Sabine-Neches Waterway on the Texas-Louisiana border resumed at 2:30pm ET Tuesday after closing at 12:30am ET, the third consecutive day with intermittent fog closures. Vessel traffic resumed at the Louisiana port of Lake Charles at 4:45am ET Tuesday, the ship agent said. Traffic there has been halted every night since 2 February due to dense fog but has remained open during the day. The October-March period that brings cooler weather to the US Gulf coast also brings periods of dense fog that can disrupt area ports, as warmer humid air collides with colder onshore air masses. Port closures can persist for several days, leading to delays and vessel congestion. Weather forecasts indicate a moderate to high chance of fog in Texas and Louisiana through Thursday morning. By Tray Swanson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Petrobras considers India for crude: CEO


11/02/25
11/02/25

Petrobras considers India for crude: CEO

Sao Paulo, 11 February (Argus) — Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras is considering opportunities in deepwater and ultra-deepwater crude blocks in India, chief executive Magda Chambriard said today. The Indian government announced on Tuesday, during the India Energy Week conference held in New Delhi, that it will offer 25 deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil blocks, Chambriard said. "We will carefully evaluate these opportunities, always looking for new production frontiers, which will guarantee us security and financing for the energy transition," she added. Petrobras has been looking for alternatives to replenish its crude reserves, as those in its main source of oil — Brazil's pre-salt — are dwindling. But reserves are not in immediate danger, as the firm's proven oil and natural gas reserves rose by 4.6pc to 11.4bn bl of oil equivalent (boe) at the end of 2024. The company's 2025-29 strategic plan envisions investments in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Africa, but this is the first time Petrobras mentioned India as a potential source of crude. Still, the company's main bets to replenish reserves are the southern Pelotas basin and the Foz do Amazonas basin in the northern equatorial margin. The latter could contain 10bn of recoverable bl of oil equivalent, according to energy research bureau EPE. Petrobras is awaiting permission to start exploratory drilling there , after it appealed environmental agency Ibama's May 2023 decision to deny the license on environmental grounds. By Lucas Parolin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Persistent fog disrupts ports in Texas, Louisiana


11/02/25
11/02/25

Persistent fog disrupts ports in Texas, Louisiana

Houston, 11 February (Argus) — Dense fog halted marine pilot service at Texas ports again on Tuesday, a ship agent said. The Houston Pilots Association, which services vessels entering or departing the port of Houston, resumed boardings for only outbound traffic at 10:45am ET Tuesday after suspending all vessel traffic on Monday evening, the US Coast Guard said. Pilots also suspended service at the nearby ports of Galveston and Texas City. The port of Freeport, Texas, remained open, the ship agent said. Pilots halted boardings at the Sabine-Neches Waterway on the Texas-Louisiana border early Tuesday, the third consecutive day with intermittent fog closures. The waterway was last open from 8:30am Monday before closing at 12:30am ET Tuesday. Vessel traffic resumed at the Louisiana port of Lake Charles at 4:45am ET Tuesday, the ship agent said. Traffic there has been halted every night since 2 February due to dense fog but has remained open during the day. The October-March period that brings cooler weather to the US Gulf coast also brings periods of dense fog that can disrupt area ports, as warmer humid air collides with colder onshore air masses. Port closures can persist for several days, leading to delays and vessel congestion. Weather forecasts indicate a moderate to high chance of fog in Texas and Louisiana through Thursday morning. By Tray Swanson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Feyzin bitumen output halted as part of wider stoppage


11/02/25
11/02/25

Feyzin bitumen output halted as part of wider stoppage

London, 11 February (Argus) — Bitumen production at TotalEnergies' 109,300 b/d Feyzin refinery near Lyon, central France, is halted from 10-20 February as part of a wider shutdown affecting the refinery's crude distillation unit (CDU) and reformer. Workers at the plant said last week there had been unexpectedly extended CDU works caused by a blockage by unspecified debris . TotalEnergies said at the time it would not comment on operations. Officials at the company confirmed today the CDU and reformer were among units shut at Feyzin, but said the halt was planned. They said the CDU had suffered no unexpected blockage or damage. Workers reiterated today that debris had been detected in the CDU and that this could result in a shutdown lasting weeks. Sources familiar with the refinery's operations said today that the bitumen halt would cause no supply disruptions in terms of the usual truck movements, with sufficient stocks held at the plant to meet current low-level requirements during the winter slow activity period in the road paving and other construction sectors. By Fenella Rhodes and Adam Porter Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Power outage shuts Norway's Sverdrup oil field: Update


11/02/25
11/02/25

Power outage shuts Norway's Sverdrup oil field: Update

Updates throughout London, 11 February (Argus) — Norwegian state-controlled Equinor has confirmed that a power outage has forced it to shut down production from Johan Sverdrup, the North Sea's largest oil field, as well as other oil and gas fields in the area. "We have experienced an incident involving smoke development in a control room connected to one of the converter stations at Haugsneset near Karsto," the company said. "This station supplies power to Johan Sverdrup and other fields on the Utsira High. The incident has resulted in a temporary shutdown of production." Equinor said it is working to restore power supply to the fields. According to its website, the affected power line also supplies the Gina Krog, Ivar Aasen, Edvard Grieg and Gudrun fields. Edvard Grieg and Ivar Aasen feed into the medium sour Grane crude blend. It is the second time in a week that Johan Sverdrup has been disrupted by a power outage. The field was shut down briefly on 4 February because of power supply issues onshore. Power was restored the same day, and the field had been ramping back up up to full operations on 5 February. At the time, Equinor did not expect any delays to loadings. Johan Sverdrup produces the largest stream of middle distillate-rich crude in Europe, with a plateau capacity of 755,000 b/d. The field averaged around 712,000 b/d in 2024. Its output was around plateau levels in March, April and July last year, but Equinor expects capacity to drop early this year. The grade was valued at a $1.65/bl premium to benchmark North Sea Dated on 10 February, a seven-month high, supported by a perceived global tightness in the supply of medium grades. The US tightened sanctions on the Russian fleet last month, which pushed refiners in Asia-Pacific to look for alternative, unsanctioned grades. Grane is the second-largest medium sour stream in the region, with around 180,000 b/d exported last year, according to loading programmes. Official production data show Ivar Aasen contributed around 18,000 b/d to the Grane stream last year and Edvard Grieg accounted for 38,000 b/d. Grane prices surged to a $2.50/bl premium to Dated in recent assessments, up from a $1/bl discount in early January. By Lina Bulyk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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