Post-ida restart efforts stalled as outages keep firms offline

HOUSTON — Widespread flooding from hurricane Ida and power outages on Tuesday slowed efforts by energy companies to assess damages at oil production facilities, ports and refineries.

Nearly all of Louisiana lost electrical power on Monday after Ida downed transmission lines and flooded communities, leaving more than one million customers without power.

Analysts said it could take two to three weeks to restart producing platforms and fully resume output at Louisiana refineries. Restoring power, critical to refineries, also could take weeks, utilities officials said.

"This restoration is not going to be a likely quick turnaround," said Rod West, head of utility operations at Entergy Corp.

"This was a significant catastrophic wind event, whereas Katrina was a water event by comparison."

Disruptions at oil infrastructure are testing U.S. fuel distribution systems. Operators shut offshore oil and gas pipelines that feed processing plants.

On Tuesday, the Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel line to the East Coast, restarted main gasoline and distillate lines it had shut ahead of the storm.

Phillips 66 has yet to begin damage assessments at its 255,600-barrel-per-day refinery on the Mississippi River in Belle Chasse, La., a spokesman said. The plant, which was put up for sale last week, was swamped when a nearby levee failed.

Floods have been reported at other facilities in Louisiana. Nine refineries have reduced production or shut operations, taking offline 2.3 million bpd of capacity or 13 per cent of the country's total, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated.

Offshore, 95 per cent of the Gulf's oil production and 94 per cent of its gas output remained shut, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said. A total of 288 production platforms and 11 rigs remained evacuated.

Ports from New Orleans to Pascagoula, Miss., were closed on Tuesday, including Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the largest U.S. privately owned crude export and import terminal.

Oil prices fell slightly Tuesday, as the shuttering of refineries will temporarily sap demand for crude. U.S. gasoline futures were also lower.

Regional gasoline prices are expected to rise temporarily, the American Automotive Association said, though flooding could sap demand.