Assessing the damage in the wake of Hurricane Ida continued Tuesday, with the number of power outages and shut-in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) natural gas and oil production virtually unchanged. In fact, power outages for utility customers in the direct path of Ida may last three weeks or longer, Louisiana’s largest provider Entergy Corp. said.
“The full assessment of damage could take several days, since many areas are currently inaccessible...by roadways,” according to Entergy New Orleans LLC. “Based on historical restoration times, customers in the direct path of a storm as intense as Hurricane Ida could experience outages for more than three weeks.
“While 90% of customers will be restored sooner, customers in the hardest-hit areas should plan for the possibility of experiencing extended power outages,” it said.
Ida stormed ashore at Port Fourchon, LA, at midday on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph. At least four people reportedly had died, but the death toll was expected to climb.
Entergy New Orleans CEO Deanna Rodriguez was blunt about the restoration efforts.
“This will be a marathon, not a sprint,” she said. “We’re working as safely and quickly as we can, but recovery will vary depending on the damage incurred and its location. We must all be prepared for the recovery to take some time.”
As of midday Tuesday, Entergy said 787,958 Louisiana customers were without power, concentrated in Orleans Parish, home to New Orleans. There also were 22,216 customers without power in Mississippi.
Entergy delivers electricity to three million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy also operates natural gas distribution businesses in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA.
A storm team of “20,000 and growing” had been deployed by Entergy to assess the damage across New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana. The catastrophic winds and torrential rainfall toppled transmission, power poles and other equipment, causing initial power outages for nearly 895,000 Louisiana customers. Damage to eight high-voltage lines took out power for New Orleans and Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, as well as parts of St. Charles and Terrebonne parishes. One transmission tower near Avondale fell Sunday night, causing the tower’s conductor and wires to land in the Mississippi River.
“At 150 mph, Hurricane Ida’s winds were incredibly devastating,” said Entergy Louisiana CEO Phillip May. “We continue looking at options to restore power to those parishes that are out.”
Road closures, flooding and cell phone communication problems were hindering the restoration process.
Shut-In Natural Gas, Oil
According to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), 2.107 Bcf/d, or 94.47%, of the natural gas production in the GOM remained shut-in at midday Tuesday. Most of the oil produced also remained shut-in, with an estimated 93.69% or 1.705 million b/d.
The Interior Department agency also said 278 GOM platforms remained unmanned, or nearly 50%. In addition, nine rigs remained unmanned, which is around 82% of the total in U.S. waters, BSEE said. Four dynamically positioned, or unmoored rigs, had not been moved back to location, which is 28% of the total.
Noble Corp., which operates ultra-deepwater drillships, said all of the people who remained onboard three of its ships in the GOM as Ida came through -- the Pacific Sharav, Noble Globetrotter I, and Noble Globetrotter II -- were said to be safe.
“Each rig successfully secured its respective well in progress and took evasive actions to avoid the storm's path,” Noble management said. “Of the three, the Noble Globetrotter II is the only vessel that encountered hurricane-force conditions. The vessel maintained stability throughout the weather event and is operating on its own power with functional marine and safety systems. A full assessment of its condition will be completed as soon as the weather clears.”
Natural gas processors and pipeline operators were assessing the damage, including Houston-based Enterprise Product Partners LP.
“Generally, Enterprise’s assets on the Louisiana Gulf Coast did not sustain material damage from Hurricane Ida,” spokesperson Rick Rainey told NGI. Enterprise was in the process of returning the assets to service.
The only assets delayed from restart were the Norco, LA, natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionator in St. Charles Parish, “and certain pipeline pump stations in the Baton Rouge to New Orleans corridor.” Norco has capacity to process up to 75,000 b/d net NGLs.
“Enterprise personnel are in the process of accessing and performing initial assessments on these facilities and certain assets are awaiting for power to be restored,” Rainey said.
Nearly two dozen petrochemical facilities in Louisiana had reported force majeures or reduced operating rates. As of early Tuesday, there was an estimated 45 million tons/year of capacity offline, according to analysts with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.
“We believe this reported number is likely to rise in the coming days,” analysts said. “With the industry still recovering from Uri outages, these additional disruptions have the potential to push prices even higher.” Winter Storm Uri knocked out power to millions during February, most notably in Texas.
Moody’s Investors Service said Tuesday it expects limited damage to the massive refinery complex along Louisiana’s coast. “However, severe storm damage to the surrounding areas will cause outages at various midstream logistics assets and utilities,” wrote the credit ratings team led by James Wilkins. “The storm's dislocation of the local workforce also risks significantly disrupting refining operations and delaying their return to normal operations.”
The shutdown of U.S. refining capacity “will increase refiners' profit margins temporarily and reduce inventory levels for U.S. refined products,” the Moody’s team said. “We expect only limited property damage to most refining facilities, not requiring extended downtime for rebuilding or repairing plant assets, some of which were hit by storms just last year.”
Ports Restarting?
Most of the region’s port operations remained shuttered early Tuesday, but reports Tuesday indicated many were getting ready to reopen. The Louisiana ports that were closed included Baton Rouge, Gramercy and Morgan City, along with Mississippi’s Port of Pascagoula. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, aka LOOP, one of the largest oil conduits in the country, reportedly was ready to open.
The Port of New Orleans, also a major supply conduit, said initial assessments indicated no major damage to facilities. The port was coordinating with navigation partners, local and state officials “so we can resume operation safely and as quickly as possible.”
The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East confirmed there were “no levee breaches or overtopping” within the region’s Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System. There also appeared to be no issues with the pumps.
President Biden said recovery efforts would be “a whole-of-government and whole-of-community response,” coordinated with state and local officials. The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security were making satellite imagery available. The Federal Aviation Administration also is working with Louisiana and Mississippi to authorize the use of surveillance drones to assess the damage.
In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard had 27 rotary or fixed wing aircraft, while the DOD was supplying 60 high water vehicles and 14 rotary wing aircraft, to assist with search and rescue. More than 5,200 National Guard personnel also were activated in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to support response efforts.
Where To Help
As on Monday, many organizations were continuing to jump in to help provide food, water, supplies and shelter to the thousands of people displaced by the storm.
Houston’s Relief Gang, originally founded to help those impacted by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, said it was working with search-and-rescue teams going into Louisiana. Global Giving was accepting donations for food, fuel, water, hygiene supplies and shelter.
Feed the Second Line, an organization that supports the New Orleans' creative community, said all donations that were made in September and October would go to those recovering from the storm.
"With extended power outages expected, many will need food and other supplies,” it said in a message on Instagram. “There will certainly be damage with Hurricane Ida -- but we will come together as a community and support one another -- because we love our city and her people.”
Another place to contribute is the SPCA, aka the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Louisiana SPCA last weekend took 160 shelter animals to Houston and Atlanta to safely ride out the storm. Around 220 animals and staff members endured the hurricane’s wrath at the New Orleans campus.
To vet charities and donation centers, check out Charity Navigator, Charity Watch and GuideStar.
